Stand or Burn
by jazzerciser
Summary: A queen without a king is still a ruler. A girl without a father is still a child. But Cedric made her special. Without him, she doesn't know what she is. George Weasley sets out to discover: who is Prudence Turner?
1. There's Irony in Anonymity

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to JKR! Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 – There's Irony in Anonymity<strong>

I frowned as I slowly made my way out of the Great Hall, the raucous students swirling around me as they jabbered on about their summers or what happened on the train ride or how much they were going to drink during this upcoming weekend.

Hadn't they noticed that Hagrid wasn't here? Hadn't they heard the Sorting Hat's new song? And didn't they just hear what our new Defense professor had just said? The Ministry was infiltrating Hogwarts. Why would Fudge do that? Did he not trust Dumbledore? Was this because of what had happened to Cedric?

My heart shifted uncomfortably in my chest as I remembered the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Cedric was one of the few people at school that would actually make an effort to talk to me. He hadn't cared if his friends laughed when he sat down next to me during breakfast, and he would always tell me to come see his quidditch matches. He'd even invite me to study with him in the library.

I breathed a sigh of relief once I had made it into the Entrance Hall. I always hated the traffic jam that swelled when everyone tried to leave the feast at the same time…I didn't much care for crowds. All those people in the same place, talking at once? It made me nervous to say the least.

I peeled off to the left, turning down the corridor towards my common room. I saw students sneaking off into the dimly lit halls, no doubt to drink and snog, and spotted my own two dormmates, Grace and Noel, among them. I would have the room to myself for a good two hours.

As I came up to the stack of barrels, a redheaded figure suddenly tumbled out of the kitchens, shoving me against the wall. I caught my bearings as three small boys sprinted past, yelling about going to steal someone's knickers.

"Sorry!"

Slowly, I turned my head to face George Weasley, or was it Fred? Either way, both of them were standing in front of me, looking sheepish.

"What were you doing? You're not allowed to go in there," I stated, trying my best to assert authority into my voice.

The twin standing furthest from me raised his eyebrows in shock. "Hey! She can talk!"

"Fred, shut up!" The one who had jostled me, who must have been George, elbowed his brother. "So sorry for him and terribly sorry for bumping into you, madame."

I ignored his gallant bow, unamused by his antics. "I could dock points, you know."

Both of them stopped for a moment to peer at the shiny, gold Prefect's badge that was placed on my robes. "Ah," George said with a solemn nod. "So you could. But I would like to argue my case here, if you don't mind, you see-"

Being stared at by two of the most infamous people in the school so intently was starting to make me sweat. "You know what?" I interrupted. "I'm not going to. First night back and all. So uh, good night!"

Without looking back at either of them, I dashed down the hall to the barrels, tapped the correct one to the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff, and all but dove through the tunnel it created. As soon as the passageway was sealed once more and my feet hit the thick, brown rug that I'd come to associate with home, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I made my way over to the hallway that led to the various dormitories, completely unsurprised as no one so much as looked up at me. I didn't have any friends here, mainly acquaintances. In first year, everyone had been so eager to meet one another, and had formed all these clusters of people that, over the years, had become close mates. Me, on the other hand, had been so terrified of the strangers I was surrounded by, that I had spent the entire train ride in the loo with a book, Tuck Everlasting to be exact.

At the Welcome Back Feast, I had been nodded at politely and congratulated by a few of my new housemates, but I had immediately buried my face in my book as the sorting continued, afraid to even look up for fear of catching someone's eye. I _had _made an attempt to speak to the other two girls that had been sorted along with me, but I was so shy and awkward that I couldn't even tell them my name. They'd declared me a freak and spent the night showing one another their lip gloss collections.

So, the years dragged on and I became more and more accustomed to being alone. I honestly didn't mind. It meant that I got a lot of reading done, and I never had to stay up late to do my homework, because it was usually finished before dinner. With a sigh of contentment, I shut and locked the door to my dormitory behind me, releasing my satchel on my bed. It was the one furthest from the bathroom, as Grace and Noel had claimed the others in first year, but I didn't mind, because it was right next to a window that overlooked the quidditch pitch.

Despite my fear of heights, the sport fascinated me. I'd played football when I was younger, but had always been too busy thinking about whatever book I was currently reading to focus much on the game. Quidditch was different though. It was so fast-paced, it was unbelievable how swiftly and fearlessly the players moved. I'd loved watching Cedric play, because he always looked so happy up in the air. And he was always so modest when he caught the snitch.

I wandered into the bathroom and turned on the faucet to the shower, allowing the heat to fog up the mirror as I slowly undressed, depositing my various bottles of soap and shampoo onto the shelf. This is what I always did the first night back. I would shower, unpack, then curl up in bed with the curtains drawn, reading until I could no longer keep my eyes open. I liked routines. They were safe. And certain.

Once out of the shower, I brushed out my hair and settled into my usual pajamas of a hole-filled, gray jumper and white cotton pants, and nestled under my covers with my copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. It was my favorite, and would have fallen apart years ago had it not been for a bit of magic at the binding. As I picked back up with the Ewells, I heard the door unlock.

The lights were turned back on and whoever it was sniffed a few times, muffling tears as they quietly entered the bathroom. She was alone? And crying? Gently I peeled back my hangings, noticing the satchel that had been tossed on the bed next to mine; Grace.

I slid out of bed and made my way over to the locked, mahogany door. I knocked. "Grace? Is everything all right?"

The tap immediately turned on. "What? Oh, I'm fine! I just stubbed my toe is all." Her voice was thick with tears.

For a moment my words caught in my throat as I contemplated why I was even standing there. Then I steeled my nerves. "I know we're not friends, but if you want to talk…I'm a pretty good listener. Not a great talker, but, you know that…" I mumbled the last part to myself and turned to head back to my bed.

The door slowly opened behind me. "Do you mind?"

"No! No, of course not." I tucked my damp hair behind my ear and observed her unkempt blonde hair and smudged makeup.

Almost nervously, Grace settled herself on her bed opposite me. "It's just…it's Noel. She's been distant this whole summer. You know we only hung out once? And that was right after school let out, in June. Turns out it's because she's been seeing Patrick Bagby."

My eyes widened. Grace had fancied Patrick since third year. "Do you think she knew that you liked him?" I asked timidly.

"Oh yeah, she knew," Grace sniffed bitterly. Her sparkly, purple nails shredded the tissue in her hands. "She did it to get back at me for snogging Martin Applebee last spring, but _he _kissed me! And we were playing Spin the Bottle."

I remembered the blowout that had happened. They hadn't realized I was in my bed when they'd started having a go at one another. I learned quite a bit about both of them; mainly, that they had snogged a lot of boys.

My fingers traced the paisley pattern of my bedsheets. "Well…have you talked with her about this? You know, tried to listen to her side of the story?"

"Her side of the story is that she's a slut!" she burst out shrilly.

I pursed my lips. "Perhaps she fancies him too. She might not have ever told you, because she was afraid it might upset you. And she's probably really sorry."

The blonde narrowed her eyes. "I don't care. You don't do that to a friend! You just don't! If someone that was _your _friend tried to do that to the boy that _you _fancied, would you be all right with it?"

Well, I had no friends, and Cedric was… But I guess if I did, then I wouldn't much like it. "No," I whispered, fighting back the sobs that I could feel climbing up my throat.

"Exactly," Grace said quietly, and without any satisfaction. There was a knock on the door.

"Grace? I know you're in there. Will you please come out, so we can talk? Just let me explain!" More knocking. "Grace!"

She looked at me uncertainly. "…should I go?"

I was taken aback. Not only was she confiding in me, she was asking for my opinion. I considered it. On one hand, if Grace was angry with Noel, perhaps she would start sitting with me at meals and in classes, and I could finally have a friend. On the other hand, if the two were fighting all year, it would be a very uncomfortable sleeping environment. I nodded.

"All right," she muttered, smoothing out her skirt and flicking back her hair as she stood and walked over to the door. "Thanks Prudence."

I gave a small smile, and closed my hangings as she closed the door.

Their voices faded as they headed back towards the common room, and I picked up my book once more, only to find out that I wasn't able to concentrate on the words. I was suddenly overcome with memories of Cedric…the way he'd looked walking down the corridor, so confidently, with his smile pasted on his face as he made his way to Charms class…him tutoring first years in the library, his brow crinkled and his fingers blackened with ink. He was so kind. He was just a genuine person. You didn't find someone like that very often. I couldn't believe that he wasn't here with us, laughing in the common room or getting ready for bed in his dormitory. He wasn't head boy this year; instead, Charles Goldstein took his place. Martin Applebee was now our quidditch captain.

I folded up on my side, placing my book and wand onto my bedside table. I wondered how Cho Chang was doing. I hadn't seen her at the feast, although I hadn't really been looking. I'd mostly been staring at the space next to Patrick and Martin that was left empty. Perhaps Cedric was the reason that Professor Umbridge was at our school. Did this mean that Minister Fudge was actually concerned about You-Know-Who? Did he believe that he was back, like Harry Potter said?

The thought was too awful to bear. He had done so much damage the first time. A second period of terror under his reign sent a shock of fear down my spine. I shook my head of my ridiculous thoughts and screwed my eyes shut tightly, concentrating on sleep.

I was the first one awake the next morning. I hadn't heard Grace or Noel come back last night, but both of their hangings were closed, so I tiptoed over to the bathroom, where I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I had already dressed and packed my bag with all of my books and supplies when Noel emerged from her bed, her strawberry blonde hair somehow looking perfect and her skin flawless.

"Oh, it's just you," she muttered, brushing past me into the loo.

I guess I shouldn't have expected anything else. I cautiously made my way to the Great Hall. I always made an effort to get there before it was packed, because I hated walking in while nearly everyone else was already sitting down. Just the thought of it gave me the chills. Thankfully, there were only a handful of people seated, so I picked a spot near the end of the Hufflepuff table out of the way and began making myself a cup of tea.

Once I had my tea and a plate of toast in front of me, I dragged my book from my satchel.

"Miss Turner," a voice said from behind me. "Would you like me to give you your schedule now?"

I turned to find Professor Sprout. I smiled. She was my favorite teacher. She never picked me to answer questions if my hand wasn't up, which it never was, and always said hello to me in the corridors. Not to mention she had excused me from prefect duties last term after the tournament. "Oh, yes please!"

"Are you still thinking about becoming a healer?" she asked, her brusque voice laced with hope.

I nodded and shoved my hair behind my shoulder. "Yes."

She gave me a small smile of approval. "All right, I see no problems with your grades from last year. This puts you in Potions, Charms, Herbology, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Is there anything else you would like to take?"

"I'd quite like to take Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies, and Astronomy again," I said quietly, taking a sip from my cup of tea.

Professor Sprout tapped her wand on the parchment a few more times before handing it to me. "There you are. Now, if you feel like this work load gets to be too much for you along with your prefect duties, you come and find me, all right?"

As I nodded, she moved down the table to a group of fourth years. Today I had double Potions, Ancient Runes, Transfiguration, and DADA. Not too bad. It was tomorrow I dreaded. I had double Charms, Astronomy, Muggle Studies, and Herbology. Though I loved Professor Sprout, I loathed the filthy, lethal plants and their ridiculous names. I had also never been very good at Charms. It wasn't my strong suit.

With a sigh, I decided to head down to the Potions room. It never hurt to be early, especially when Snape was your professor. There were only a few people there when I arrived, all Ravenclaws.

"Hello Sir," I said quietly as I passed his desk to settle into the corner table. He glanced up at me and gave a slight nod before returning to the parchment he was scribbling on. I was glad that was over with. He terrified me more than any other person at Hogwarts. I never knew when he was going to lash out at someone, and more than once he had made me cry – in secret of course. I would never allow any of my classmates to be privy to my tears.

Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson walked in with their other roommate, Janice Featherby, and Lee Jordan. I wasn't surprised that the twins weren't with them. Though I suspected they were smarter than their grades depicted, what with all of the complicated pranks they pulled, I doubted Snape would have given them a passing OWL. They hadn't been in potions last year, come to think of it. There was a serious lack of cauldrons blowing up.

The Gryffindors settled down at my table as the large group of Slytherins and Ravenclaws crowded the others. Martin Applebee scooted into the room behind Charles Goldstein and slid into the only available seat, which was next to me.

He glanced up at me as he placed his bag down. "Looks like it's just the two of us representing our house, huh?"

I gave him a faint smile, surprised he was even acknowledging me. "Looks like it."

"Cedric would have been here with us," he said suddenly, and immediately the Gryffindors quieted down their conversation. Angelina looked immensely uncomfortable.

"Yes, I suppose he would have…" I trailed off, trying not to imagine what it would be like to be his potions partner, how he would show me the correct amount of unicorn hair to add to our cauldron with an in-depth explanation and a wide grin on his face.

Martin rustled through his bag. "How's Cho?" I asked timidly, and he looked over at me in shock. I never initiated conversations. "Do-do you know?"

He looked thoughtful. "She's…coping. It hit her the hardest, I think. We lost a mate, but she lost her boyfriend. Saw her this morning though. She laughed at something Terry Boot said."

"Good, good," I muttered. Despite my feelings towards Cedric, I felt sorry for Cho. I'd seen the way she'd looked at him. She'd liked him just the same as me. And considering how I'd felt for the past four months, I knew she'd been having a hard time.

Gradually, the conversation between Janice and Lee started up again, and I pulled out my parchment, beginning to take down the notes that appeared on the chalkboard.

The class was a successful one. Martin had offered to be my partner, and we'd managed an E on our Drought of Living Death potion, which was great considering that it was one of the most difficult potions to create in existence. Of course Snape would assign us to that on the first day back. I was content with it, but I didn't think my father would be. He only ever showed interest in my schooling when my grades weren't satisfactory.

I didn't see the twins again until after lunch. I was settled into the third row of desks in McGonagall's classroom, doodling on a spare bit of parchment when they entered, Lee in tow.

"Can't believe that old toad," one of the twins muttered as they settled into the seats behind me.

Lee plopped down in his chair noisily. "She's Fudge's puppet. She's probably getting paid by him to say that Harry's a liar."

My quill slowed in my hands as I concentrated on their conversation.

"I can't believe she gave him detention, on the first day! That must be a record!"

"George, I think you're forgetting our first day of classes in fifth year," Fred sniggered.

I rolled my eyes to myself. Two years ago, the twins had glued their brother Percy to a moving staircase after he'd tried to dock points. This, of course, led to them each getting a week's worth of detention from McGonagall before breakfast had even begun.

So Harry Potter had gotten detention from the new professor this morning? And she was calling him a liar? The only thing I could assume Harry was talking about was You-Know-Who, and what had happened with Cedric last spring. The Daily Prophet hadn't been painting the most flattering picture of him, after all.

Suddenly, my quill slipped out of my fingers and rolled onto the floor. Umbridge wasn't here to investigate the situation. She was here to contain it.

"Hey, you dropped this," came from behind me, and I turned to see Grace and Noel.

I accepted the writing utensil from Grace's hands. "Thanks."

She nodded as her and Noel settled into the desk to my left. It appeared that the two had made up after their fight last night. It seemed we weren't going to become friends after all. I don't know what I expected to come out of our conversation. With a shrug, I busied myself with preparing my parchment and ink for class.

I thought I was going to once again be sitting alone, like I had in Ancient Runes before, but at the last minute Martin slid in beside me, nodding hello. I was confused. Patrick, Terrence, Grace, and Noel, the other seventh year Hufflepuffs, were sitting up front with an open seat beside them. Why was he sitting with me? It's not like we'd bonded when we were brewing our potion this morning. In fact, we'd hardly talked.

I tried not to think about him during the lesson, but it was hard. I fought the urge to ask him more questions about Cedric. Were his parents all right? Where was he buried? Were any of his things still in their dormitory? But of course, I didn't say anything, because I was terrified of what would happen if I did.

I was immensely relieved as the bell rang. Martin's presence beside me made me anxious, and I had to admit that I was eager to see if anyone would speak up to Umbridge about what had happened this morning. I once again took my place in the second to last row of desks by the wall. No one sat beside me as everyone filed in, and I noticed once more, with slight annoyance, that the twins had seated themselves behind me.

"Wands away," came from behind us, and our new professor strolled up the aisle with her pink high heels clacking against the stone.

There was a slight murmur throughout the room. Never had we been asked to pocket our wands in a Defense class, not even during our first lesson in first year.

"Yes?" she questioned the class, looking out into our sea of confused faces. When no one spoke up, she gave an ugly smile and gestured to the board behind her. On it read: Defense Against the Dark Arts, a Return to Basic Principles.

"Now, as I've determined with the fourth and fifth years so far today, it appears that your marks in this class have suffered severely in comparison to this institution's other courses. And yet, we cannot blame the students. It is the professors here who have failed you, stunting your growth with such fragmented, disrupted learning." Umbridge's face bore no grin, but she looked like she would happily welcome commentary. However, word had gotten around about her morning classes, for not a single person opened their mouth.

With a satisfied primp of her hair, she continued. "Your professors from years past have not followed the curriculum set out for them by the Ministry. This year, we will be rigorously following a Ministry-approved course for defensive magic. Now, if you could all take out a quill and copy down these three course aims…"

I squinted at the board, trying to decipher her swirly handwriting from the various bits of lace and frill that seemed to have swallowed the classroom whole. Understand the principles, learn how and when to use defensive magic? That was it? That was all we were going to accomplish as seventh year students who were about to go out into the real world?

I wanted to raise my hand and say something, but after having heard what happened to the fifth years, I wasn't particularly eager. There was a smattering of whispers throughout the room as others came to the same conclusion, but once again, the class remained quiet.

"Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests," she started, once everyone's quills were down. "Now, as you know…"

Never had I so badly felt loathing for a professor. Yes, Snape was unfair to a lot of students, and yes, he clearly favored his own house and yes, he was unpleasant, but never had I feared that I wouldn't learn something, for he constantly challenged us. This woman, this Ministry worker was clearly here to do Fudge's bidding, and Fudge did not want us to learn how to cast defensive spells. What was he afraid of exactly?

My fingers began to itch, the way they always did when I got the urge to sketch. Glancing around furtively and finding everyone's attention to the front, I slowly dipped my quill into my inkwell and began to draft our new professor.

Umbridge's face took on the appearance of my neighbor's bulldog Roscoe, with her frilly pink skirt and high heels giving her a humorous makeover. The more she talked and I grew accustomed to her voice, the more detailed the drawing became. Her pearl earrings became dog bones, and her dog head began to bark at a few cats I doodled in the background.

"That's pretty good," someone whispered in my ear, and I jumped slightly, a blot of ink dripping off of my quill and staining the parchment. I scowled, turning to find George Weasley leaning over my desk.

I opened my mouth to reply, but our professor beat me to it. "Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Ms…"

Nervously, I looked up at her from under my hair. I could feel everyone's eyes on me. "Turner. And no ma'am."

George slunk back in his seat and gave Umbridge an ugly look.

"Are you sure? Because Mr. Weasley seemed extremely interested in your little drawing," she said sweetly. I didn't even want to ask how she already knew George's name. Her pink talons began reaching for my drawing and I panicked.

"No, no, it's nothing, really!" I exclaimed, pushing it out of her reach.

She extended her arm. "Miss Turner, you either give me the drawing, or I give you detention."

Feeling like I was about to be sick, I handed her the parchment. She snatched it out of my hand and observed it.

"I see…well, from the looks of things, you, Miss Turner, are a prefect, correct?" Her eyelashes fluttered at me until I nodded. "And you're supposed to be setting an example for your fellow students, but here you are wasting your class time by creating a vicious image of your professor. I think this warrants a detention, don't you?"

But she had just said…! My mouth dropped open as she smiled smugly and turned her attention to George. "Detention for you as well, Mr. Weasley, as you were encouraging this reckless behavior."

Fury was etched on his face. Fred and Lee sniggered at him behind their hands.

"Detentions for the both of you as well," Umbridge stated, before promptly turning on her heel and returning to the front of the room. The smirks dropped off of their faces.

I spent the rest of the class sitting on my hands, which were shaking so badly that I couldn't even hold my quill up to take proper notes. I was dead. I was deader than dead. If my father found out…

I'd never had detention in my life! I was a prefect! Would Professor Sprout revoke my position? That would make my father so angry. I couldn't get one of those letters. Oh Merlin I was going to be sick. The moment the bell rang, I grabbed my satchel and bolted out the door, leaving my drawing on the desk.

I pushed the door to the bathroom open so fast that it nearly swung back and hit me. I dropped to my knees in the first stall and emptied the contents of my lunch into the toilet, beads of sweat forming along my browline. I retched until all that came up was water, then shakily stood and washed my face in the sink.

My head was foggy. I barely registered the fact that there was someone waiting for me outside the door.

"Prudence!"

I turned abruptly, whirling into a Slytherin, who glared at me. "Filthy half-breed."

I ignored them and found the source of the voice. "Martin…hi," I said weakly. Vaguely I hoped my breath didn't smell of vomit.

"You left your drawing in class," he replied, hitching his bag up on his shoulder and handing it to me.

My fingers trembled as I took it from him and I noticed that my palms were clammy. "Thanks," I mumbled, and walked away. I needed to get away from everyone. Now.

I spent the rest of my afternoon in my bed with the hangings drawn, writing an essay to Umbridge apologizing for my actions. What else were Hufflepuffs known for besides brown-nosing? I was hoping I could convince her not to send word to my father about the detention. Once I had finished, I decided that I should go down to dinner, despite my stomach's protests.

There was an unusual amount of chatter in the Great Hall tonight. A lot of people were looking at Harry Potter, and I couldn't blame them. On any given day he was something to look at, but now that it had been made very clear that the Ministry didn't agree with him about You-Know-Who, a lot of students were giving him a wide berth. The Gryffindor table was split down the middle, and I could clearly see who was on Harry's side and who was on Fudge's. All of the Weasley's were seated around him of course, but two of his roommates were not.

I was distracted from my observations by a second year named Louise. "This is for you Miss," she said quietly, retreating back down the table. As I opened it, I noticed the twins and Lee doing the same thing.

_Miss Turner,_

_You will arrive to my office promptly at 8pm. You will be writing lines. No need to bring a quill or ink; I have my own._

_Dolores J. Umbridge_

Well at least I didn't have to clean out any cauldrons or help our caretaker Filch. Those were two of the worst kinds of detentions students here received. I felt like such a delinquent. The twins were carrying on like nothing ever happened, but my legs had been quivering all day. I subconsciously rubbed my left wrist as I thought about the last time my father had received an owl from the school.

At 7:30 I could no longer take sitting in the hall by myself, and headed back up to the DADA classroom, my essay in hand. Though I was early, I knocked on the office door anyway.

"Come in," Umbridge called in her sickly sweet voice that reminded me of the gross red medicine I was forced to take when I was ill as a child.

I blinked. Her entire office was pink…and frilly. I nearly jumped out of my boots when a cat meowed in my ear. I focused on my professor. "Hi, Professor Umbridge…I know I'm early, but I just wanted to give you this essay. It's an apology. For my drawing. I just wanted you to know that it was very out of character for me. I've never gotten a detention before, and I promise that it will never happen again," I burst out nervously, handing her the parchment.

"How nice of you." Her pink nails enclosed the essay and she placed it down neatly on her desk. "You may take a seat. Once Misters Jordan and Weasley are here, we will begin."

Awkwardly, I sat down in a lacy, white chair in front of her desk, occupying myself with Jem, Scout, and Atticus until the others arrived, at which point parchment and quills were placed in front of the four of us.

"Each of you will write, 'I must not disturb the class,'" she insisted, settling herself primly in her seat.

I picked up my quill and examined it for a moment. "How many times would you like us to write the line, Professor?"

Her blue eyes fixated on me. I didn't like the way she was smiling. "You will write it until the message sinks in."

"Won't we be needing ink?" Lee piped in.

Umbridge gave another wide smile. "Oh no, Mr. Jordan. I have special quills that don't require any."

Whatever that meant. With a muffled yawn, I picked up the quill in front of me and began to write. As I got to the word disturb, the tingling sensation I felt in my left hand turned to a burning feeling, and I immediately dropped the quill back on the desk.

"Is there a problem Miss Turner?"

I glanced sideways at George. He cocked his head to the side and mouthed, 'you okay?'

Feeling Umbridge's watchful gaze, I nodded slowly and began writing again. I heard Lee let out a small gasp, and a look of realization came over the twin's faces. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to finish my first line and begin the next. My left hand was turning bright red.

I could hardly concentrate on the words. My hand felt like it was on fire. The reason this quill didn't need ink was because it used blood. My blood. Fred's blood. The blood of whomever was writing with it. This had to be illegal. If the other professors knew, would they disallow it? Would Umbridge get in trouble? Or would I simply get another detention?

My strategy was to write the line as quickly as possible, but then I remembered that there was no set limit to the detention and I could be writing all night. At that point, I began writing slowly, which was almost worse. I followed George's lead and wrote like I typically did, at a steady, neat pace. The clock on the wall had a cat tail that wagged as every second passed. I could feel the eyes of the animals on the wall watching us. I had a feeling that if they could, they would be laughing at us.

After an hour, I felt like I couldn't write another line. I bit back tears and my hand wavered. George's foot gently stepped on mine, and I forced myself to keep writing. I had a feeling that if one of us stopped, Umbridge would keep us here longer as punishment.

To make matters worse, there was a newspaper clip from the Daily Prophet on her desk about the Tri-Wizard Tournament and Cedric's death. My heart felt like it was clenched in an iron vice, and I chewed on my lip so viciously that I drew blood. Great. Now I was bleeding in two places.

Finally, at 9:45, she told us to place our quills down. I barely restrained myself from chucking mine at her as she collected all of our papers. George's by far had the most lines. Lee's had the least.

"You may go. I trust that none of you will be back in this office writing lines?"

For the second time that day I felt like I was going to be sick. "No ma'am," I managed to speak, and backed out of the office. I accidentally brushed my hand up against a desk and cried out, clutching it to my chest. "Shit."

"Are you all right?" George asked, jogging over.

I stared at him.

"Er, okay, obviously you're not. Can I help you with your hand?" He ran his good hand through his red hair so it stuck up all over the place.

I stared at him some more. "Do you know any healing spells?"

"Well, no," he admitted.

"Then no." I began walking again.

He caught up to me once more. "Look, I just wanted to apologize. I know this was my fault. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," I tried to say, but my voice caught.

"Oh Merlin, are you crying? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-" he rambled, looking alarmed.

I swallowed. "It's not you," I managed. "It's just the bleeding, and she had that _stupid _article about Cedric on her desk…"

I hated the look he was giving me. Immediately my expression disappeared and I brushed past him, heading back to my common room. This time he didn't catch up with me.

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><p><strong>AN: This is my new George Weasley/OC story! It's set during OoTP but is slightly AU. If you liked it (and even if you didn't) please feel free to drop a review and share your thoughts! 3**


	2. Finding the In-Between

**Disclaimer: Everything to recognize belongs to JKR! Enjoy!**

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><p>By the time I got back to my dormitory that night, my hand was dripping blood and the pain had given me a migraine. Noel shrieked when she saw me, flinging her hands up to her face.<p>

"What happened to you?" she asked in awe, peering at my wound from between her fingers.

I collapsed on my bed and began carefully blotting it with tissues. "Detention with Umbridge."

"What did she do to you?" Grace asked, coming out of the bathroom.

I choked back a scream as I pressed the tissue to the back of my hand in an attempt to stop the bleeding. "We were writing lines with a quill that used our blood instead of ink. So…word of the wise, don't get a detention in her class."

The looks of horror on their faces would have been funny had my entire arm not been numb.

"I have something that might help," Grace spoke up shyly. She rummaged around in her trunk until she found pulled out a vial of pale green liquid.

"Essence of Murtlap! That's exactly what I need!" I exclaimed in surprise. I was worried I would have to suffice with an ice pack for tonight, not having been able to afford any healing potions this summer, but a wave of relief swept over me.

She poured some in a small dish that was on her nightstand, knocking the assorted jewelry out of it, then handed it to me. Gingerly, I eased my hand into it. I gasped aloud at the wonderful, buzzing feeling that jolted through my body.

"Is it working?" she asked, nervously tugging on her hair.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's working great. Thanks, Grace," I said in shock. Normally they just would have ignored me in favor of their conversation about which quidditch player had the best bum.

It was silent for a few minutes as the pair of them readied for bed. Noel was applying a face mask and Grace was picking out an outfit. Somehow she made wearing a uniform exhausting, what with all the accessories she added to it.

"So I hear Martin Applebee is your partner in Potions," Grace brought up conversationally as she decided between two different white blouses. She chose the one that made her chest look bigger.

Noel's eyes snapped open. "He is?"

"Er, yeah, we're the only two Hufflepuffs…" I stated awkwardly.

Grace smirked. "Are you jealous Noel? I thought you had Patrick now."

"I do! I'm so _not _jealous. It's just weird, is all." Noel sniffed and flicked a piece of lint off of her sweater.

I looked back and forth between the pair, and quickly realized that whatever fight they'd had last night had most certainly not been resolved.

"Why is that weird?" Grace retorted. "Are you saying it's weird that Martin decided to partner up with Prudence?"

Noel looked at her friend as if she had two heads. "Of course that's why it's weird. He never paid any attention to her before, no offense Prudence."

I held up my free hand as if to say, whatever, then picked up the dish and fled into the bathroom for higher ground. Er, so to speak. As I closed the door, the pair of them exploded, and soon names were being tossed around.

"WHAT KIND OF BINT STEAL'S THEIR BEST FRIEND'S CRUSH? HUH?"

"WHO FANCIES A PERSON FOR FOUR YEARS AND DOES NOTHING ABOUT IT? IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT YOUR SKANKY HOOK-UPS WITH HIM WEREN'T INTERESTING ENOUGH FOR HIM TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL," Noel screamed back, and Grace gasped.

"You bitch," she whispered hatefully, and the door to the hallway slammed once, then twice as I assumed Noel ran after her.

It was suddenly very quiet. The buzz from the fluorescent lighting was the only noise as I took my hand out of the bowl and washed it in the sink. I took a cold shower, so the steam wouldn't hurt the wound, and passed out in my bed before the clock even struck eleven. Neither of them had returned.

When I woke up the next morning, Noel was already gone. "Morning," I said cautiously to Grace, who was seated at her desk, applying her makeup in the mirror.

"Good morning," she spoke perkily, dotting foundation underneath her eyes.

"How are you?" I asked slowly, testing the waters.

She shrugged, her perfectly styled blonde hair bouncing. "I'm all right. Want to walk to breakfast with me?"

I frowned and made my way into the bathroom. "Erm, sure."

Grace gave me a reassuring smile as I closed the door. My life was getting stranger by the second, it seemed.

Once my hair was slicked back into a bun, my hand was wrapped in a bandage, and my bag was packed, the two of us headed to the Great Hall. I'd never walked to breakfast with anyone before, and I was excited, even though I knew it was only because she was angry with Noel. She smiled and waved at so many people that I got whiplash from turning my head back and forth.

"So Prue, you don't mind if I call you Prue, do you?" She took a lip gloss tube out of her satchel and applied some before offering it to me. It was hot pink and sparkly.

"No thanks," I said with a weak smile. "And erm, sure, if you want."

Grace popped her lips and shot me a large grin. "Awesome! So anyway, what do you think of Martin?"

I choked on my spit. "What? Why?"

"Well, it's just that he seems pretty interested in you all of a sudden." She gave me a knowing look and fussed over my hair for a moment before we walked into the hall. "So you're going to sit next to him, right?"

"Oh, er…" I awkwardly stumbled over my feet as she grabbed my shoulders and steered me towards the center of the table. Noel was sitting on the very end of the group next to a sixth year named Tom, and she shot us a dirty look.

Grace kept one hand on my shoulder, gesturing with the other. "Everyone, Prudence is going to be sitting with us this morning! Yay!" I was shoved down onto the bench next to Martin, who grinned at me and offered up the pitcher of pumpkin juice.

"Oh, no thank you," I mumbled, my cheeks turning red. "I, er, prefer tea in the mornings…"

"You guys can feel free to call her Prue, it's her new nickname. I just made that up a minute ago and I'm already in love with it." Grace reached across my plate to snag a muffin, and as she bit into it she shot me a wink.

Noel looked fit to burst, she was so angry. She leaned over and kissed Patrick full on the mouth, taking him by surprise. His eggs splattered back on his dish.

"Who's ready for Charms this morning?" Grace practically shouted, nudging me into Martin. "I can't believe we're this lucky to have Flitwick in the mornings. He's never on time and he doesn't care if we fall asleep! Although I _do _think he would mind if a couple of his students couldn't keep their tongues out of one another's throats," she said pointedly. Patrick had the manners to look embarrassed.

This was horrifying. I kept my eyes on the cup of tea that I was furiously stirring, watching the steam curl towards the ceiling. It looked like a nice day out at least. I hated walking to Herbology in the rain. The older you got, the farther away your greenhouse was, and the more damp your robes became.

"How are you feeling this morning Prudence?" Martin asked kindly. Terrence and Patrick looked at him like he had sprouted a tail.

Was it really so strange for one of them to include me in a conversation? Merlin… "I'm better, thanks."

"Good," he said with a gallant nod. "But what happened to your hand?"

I dragged it under the table hurriedly as everyone's eyes turned to me. "Oh, nothing, I just-"

"It's from Umbridge," Grace cut in. "Last night in detention, she made Prue write with a quill that used her own blood as ink."

Everyone's heads whipped around to look at her. "What?"

"That can't be true," Patrick snorted, taking a large bite of his waffle.

Grace turned to me triumphantly. "Show them."

"Um…" As everyone's eyes once again turned to me, I sighed. "All right." I checked to make sure Umbridge wasn't paying attention, and slowly unwrapped the bandage. It looked even worse than last night; it was inflamed, and had traces of dried blood around the words.

Terrence coughed. "Holy shit, I think I'm going to be sick."

Martin clapped him on the back, glancing at me worriedly. "She really made you write with your own blood? Is that legal?"

"She's from the Ministry isn't she? Do you really think that, even if I told Dumbledore, he could do something about it? She's on Fudge's orders." I quickly rewrapped my hand, hoping that the conversation would turn somewhere else.

Noel sniffed and tossed her hair back. "Of course he could, he's Dumbledore. When has he listened to Fudge before?"

"Yes but things have changed, Noel," Patrick said softly. "We know that better than anyone."

We were all silent for a moment. Somehow Cedric became a part of every conversation I was in. I felt bile rise in my throat when I realized that I was sitting in his usual seat, and I fought back the urge to retch.

"I just realized I left a book back in the dorm," I mumbled, pushing back from the bench.

Grace frowned. "Well, I'll save you a seat in Charms!"

I barely had time to catch Noel's death glare before I shot out of the hall. I really needed to get it together. Compared to a lot of other people at this school, I had no right to be upset. Sure Cedric was kind to me, and we were prefects together for two years, and there was one time where I thought he might…

But we weren't friends. We certainly weren't dating. His best mates seemed to be handling this better than me. I was acting pathetic.

With a sigh, I pounded up the Grand Staircase with the intent of going to class early so I could finish To Kill a Mockingbird. Unfortunately, I was the first person to fall into Peeves the Poltergeist's trap. I shrieked as balloons full of paint exploded down on me, dousing my hair, uniform, and satchel in the colors of the rainbow.

"PEEVES!" I bellowed, slipping as I tried to get out of his way. He flew away cackling, tossing more balloons as he went. I spat out a wad of yellow paint and skidded my way down the hall. I didn't want Filch to catch me with the mess. Somehow I'd end up getting blamed for it, and the last thing I needed was to get into more trouble.

"Where the hell is the bathroom?" I asked aloud furiously, trying to feel my way along the corridor. The paint had glued my eyelashes together. I stepped in a large purple puddle and fell flat on my arse. Someone burst into laughter as they rounded a corner and walked over, lifting me up by my armpits.

I wrenched away from them once I regained my balance. "Who is this?"

"Merlin's boxer shorts," was the response. I thought I recognized the voice, but I wasn't sure. "Come on, I'll get you to the loo."

Reluctantly, I grabbed onto this person's elbow and allowed them to slowly walk me down the hall. I was pushed onto a chair suddenly and I heard the tap turn on. The stranger was now dabbing at my face with a warm washcloth.

"I think you can open your eyes now," he said, and as I did so, I yelped and nearly fell off of my seat.

My eyes narrowed. "Of course it's you. You seem to be around every corner lately."

George rolled his eyes. "Actually I was waiting to see who would walk into Peeves' trap."

"You couldn't have warned me?" I demanded, flinching as he scrubbed at my forehead.

George dipped the rag back into the water and wrung it out. "I didn't know it was you, did I?"

"So you were completely okay with letting anyone walk into it? What if it was McGonagall? What if it was Umbridge?" I ignored the fact that his free hand was holding the back of my neck so he could tilt my head to the side.

"All the better," was his reply. He winked at me and I took the rag from him.

"I uh, think I can take it from here. Thanks." I awkwardly stood, leaving a trail of blue and green paint along the tile.

George raised his hands in surrender and stepped back. "Be my guest…but you missed a spot."

I frowned as I examined myself in the mirror. "Where?"

"Here," he said, dipping his fingers into the paint on my shoulder and swirling them along my cheek.

My jaw dropped. "Are you kidding?"

His response was laughter.

Suddenly I noticed the urinals behind him. "You brought me into the boy's bathroom?!"

"Of course, you didn't think I'd walk into a girl's loo, did you?" George smirked, leaning against the sink.

I glared at him and grabbed my satchel, hurrying out of there before anyone could see me. I ended up running the entire way to class, scared that I would be late, but somehow George beat me there.

"If you hadn't run away, I could've showed you a short cut," was all he said, shrugging and doing his stupid little strut over to his seat.

Grace gestured for me to sit beside her. "Prue? Why are you coated with paint?"

Everyone was staring at me once again. "Peeves," I muttered, wringing my blouse out. Noel snorted in laughter.

"Here." Martin scooted his chair back so he could reach me, then tapped my head with his wand, which siphoned the dye off of me. Noel stopped laughing and abruptly turned to face the front.

The Weasley twins were sniggering at me from the corner. "Thanks Martin," I said as pleasantly as I could. He nodded and was dragged into a conversation about quidditch by Patrick.

"What's the deal with him?" Grace asked, and I shrugged.

"I don't know, he's just been super nice to me lately," I responded as I dug my textbook and quill out of my bag.

Grace whacked my arm. "Not Martin, silly, I meant George Weasley!"

I paused and glanced up at her. "Er…what about him?"

"He's totally staring at you," she whispered, shooting me a kissy face.

With a sigh, I peered around her to find George Weasley indeed staring at me. When he noticed my interest, he winked waved before tuning into his brother's conversation with Lee Jordan. Both were furiously jabbing a worn piece of parchment.

"He found me after I got pelted with the paint." I hoped that this would be enough to satisfy her, but instead she gripped my forearm tightly, her long nails digging into my skin.

"Oh my God, that's so heroic!" she squealed. "Did he carry you bridal style? Did he banish Peeves with a mighty wave of his wand?" Noel gave us a funny look and my cheeks started to burn.

Thankfully, Flitwick arrived, closing the door behind him. The first half of the class dragged by sluggishly, what with him lecturing us on the importance of the NEWTs and our final year here. Eventually he released us to work on our own, placing small stones on each set of desks.

"I want all of you to work on the spell _Aresto Momentum_," he squeaked. "One person in each pair should lightly toss the stone up into the air and the other should practice slowing down its velocity. Next class I want a foot long essay about the spell and its uses."

I turned to Grace, unsurprised to see her sleeping. I shook her awake gently. "Do you want to go first, or do you want me to?"

"You can," she decided, subtly wiping drool from her chin.

This was not going to be good. I picked up my wand and whispered the spell to myself several times. "Okay, I'm ready."

Grace gave me a devilish smile and flung the rock over my head. It hit the Weasley's desk and bounced onto the ground.

"Grace!" I yelped, just as Flitwick admonished her.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I guess I don't know my own strength."

I shrunk down in my seat as the class began to laugh.

"I believe this belongs to you," George said, trying to contain his smirk.

Grace flashed him a smile and accepted the stone from him. "Thanks ever so much!"

"I really can't believe you just did that," I muttered, resting my forehead in my hand and pretending that I wasn't surrounded by a room full of people laughing at me.

The blonde rolled her eyes and straightened her tie. "Oh get over it, it was all in fun. Besides, now we know for sure that he fancies you."

"Who fancies Prudence?" Patrick piped up in interest. Several people turned around.

Mortified, I buried my head in my bag under the pretense of looking for something.

"_George _does," she whispered conspiratorially to the group. Patrick and Terrence rolled their eyes and went back to practicing the spell, but Martin's ears pricked up.

"How do you know that?" he asked casually.

Grace shot a wink at me. "Well, he rescued her from Peeves before, and he walked all the way across the room just to return the stone to Prudence, when Fred or Lee easily could've done it. Not to mention he winked at her before."

"That doesn't prove anything," I whispered furiously. "He was just being nice. And he was probably only staring because I was completely covered in paint!"

Martin glared at them and turned around to pack his stuff up.

As the bell rang, Grace asked what the rest of my schedule was like. "Erm...I have Astronomy, lunch, and then Herbology."

"We have astronomy too!" came from behind us.

Internally, I began to panic as the Weasley twins grabbed me away from Grace and swept me from the room, Lee Jordan rolling his eyes as he tagged along. "Why are you holding on to me?"

Fred laughed. "This girl asks the real questions, doesn't she?"

"Listen Prudence, we have a proposition for you." George bent his head down to whisper in my ear. We were getting a lot of weird looks. People probably wondered who the hell I was and why I was walking with the school jokers.

I glanced up at him warily. "I'll pass, thank you."

"But you haven't even heard the offer yet!" Lee cried.

"Yeah, we're going to pay you!" George said.

"To test stuff!" Fred added happily.

I untangled myself from their lanky arms and held my books closer to my chest. "Didn't you two show up to class with a rash last spring? A _green _rash, that lasted for a full week?"

George placed a hand over his heart. "She remembered," he said fondly.

"I don't care how much you pay me, I'm not doing it." I walked faster, hoping that they would get the hint and bugger off.

Fred stepped in front of me. "Fifty galleons."

My eyes widened. Fifty galleons? That was a lot of money. I could use that to move out of my father's house. "What exactly would I be testing?"

"Oh, just a few little things that Fred and I here have whipped up over the summer. Now what you need to know…"

George talked my ear off the entire way to astronomy, during astronomy, and then on the way to lunch. Despite the complete and utter terror that I felt as I thought about all of the dangers of this, I couldn't help but to feel happy. Fifty galleons was an awful lot…it would be even more in the Muggle world. With everything else that I had saved up over the years, I could probably find a place of my own as soon as the year ended. Sooner, even.

All throughout lunch I remained silent, thinking about what type of flat I could buy and where I could afford to live. Wales might be nice...although I didn't know any Welsh. Perhaps Dorchester, just outside of London? Grace left me to my own devices mostly because she was too busy flirting with Martin in an attempt to get under Noel's skin, which suited me perfectly fine. I honestly wasn't so sure about my friendship with her. She seemed awfully vain, and was the type of girl who caused a lot of drama. But who was I to judge? Up until this morning, I'd only ever had one friend, and he was...

"Are you done eating?" I was dragged out of the past by Martin, whose blue eyes were staring down at me.

I glanced up at him, blushing as he smiled at me. "Oh, um, yes, I am."

"Want to walk to Herbology with me? We can be partners," he offered, getting up and extending a hand to me.

Nervously, I saw Noel watching us with a hateful expression. Grace nodded at me. "Sure, that sounds nice," I managed, wiping my hand on my skirt before I slid it into his.

I honestly had no idea how I'd gone from being the girl that no one spoke to, to the girl that was getting walked to classes by quidditch players. I didn't know what to say; my mouth had gone dry.

"So, what did the Weasley twins want with you?" he asked conversationally. I saw his hands curl into fists.

Was he jealous? "Oh er, they just wanted to make sure that my hand was all right after our detention last night." No need for him to know the truth. I didn't want him thinking that I was doing business with them, because I really wasn't. The last thing I wanted was for people to start associating me with Fred and George, the ultimate trouble makers.

"I still can't believe they got you into trouble like that." Martin shook his head angrily.

I pursed my lips. "To be fair, it wasn't entirely their fault. I _did _draw that picture of Umbridge you know."

"What? You were just drawing her as you saw her," he said, looking at me with a grin. I found myself laughing as he nudged me with his elbow. I nudged him back.

The two of us exited the castle into the brisk September air. "Can I take your satchel for you?" he asked, suddenly nervous.

"Oh! Er, sure, if you want to," I stuttered, and he smiled charmingly as he slid my bag off of my shoulder and onto his. Maybe Grace was right. I didn't know if George fancied me, but it seemed as though Martin did. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to. It appeared that Noel still had feelings for him, despite being with Patrick, and I certainly didn't want any enemies. But still, this felt so nice…

Martin was a perfect Herbology partner as it turns out. He did most of the dirty work, testing out the plants first so I knew how to handle them. He also seemed to have a knack for figuring out the properties of the plants, which was something I had always struggled with. Grace and Terrence were paired up next to us, and Grace kept pinching my arm excitedly.

"You're going to the prefects meeting tonight, right?" Martin asked as we headed back up to the castle.

I slapped a hand to my forehead. "I nearly forgot about that. But yes, I am."

"We could go together if you wanted. If it would make it easier for you…" he trailed off.

Cedric had always walked to the meetings with me. Usually, he would make a special effort in the mornings to catch up with me so he would know where to find me later. "Yeah, that would be great," I managed. Of course Martin would be chosen as his replacement. He was a straight O student.

"I actually have to go to the library, but I'll be at the common room at six. That way we can go to the meeting from there," I suggested. It was getting progressively harder to talk the longer I saw the sun shine off of Cedric's prefect badge that was resting on Martin's chest.

He nodded, and the second that we climbed up the steps to the entrance hall, I took off. The library. That's what I needed. I spent a lot of time in there over the years. I had a special study table that was right next to the Astronomy section of it. My name was etched onto its underside. I breathed a sigh of relief once I entered and said hello to Madame Pince. She scowled. At least that was the same.

This felt good. Going to the library to do homework once my classes were over was a part of my usual routine, and since my life had gotten fairly off-track this year, it was reassuring to be back to normal. Happily, I took out my textbooks and got to work. I lost track of time, only noticing the shadows now being cast through the stained glass windows as I was jarred from my thoughts.

"Prudence! Just the girl I was looking for!"

George flopped down in the seat across from me.

"This is a library!" Madame Pince hissed. "If you can't be quiet, you can't stay in here!"

He pretended to lock his mouth and through away the key. The librarian glared and retreated behind a book shelf. "How would you like to test one of our products out?"

"Now?" I hissed, glancing around furtively and hoping no one noticed me talking to him.

George shrugged. "Well, considering we're the ones paying you I think it only right for us to set the terms."

With a sigh, I placed down my quill and began to pack up my bag. "Why have you chosen _me _to do this anyway? Why couldn't Lee or your brother or sister do it or something?"

Upon receiving yet another glare from Madame Pince, he leaned in closer so he could speak more softly. "Lee's forbidden it since we accidentally vanished his tongue over the summer, and our mother would kill us if she found out we were using our younger siblings for testing products. What we needed was someone who wouldn't go blabbing about it to other people, least of all professors or Hermione Granger."

"So you chose a prefect." My head was beginning to throb with my confusion.

"No, we chose a student who has just as much at stake as we do. Plus, you're pretty nice to look at, much better than Lee, Fred, or myself," he spoke casually, picking up my quill and tossing it back and forth between his hands.

My cheeks flushed red and I stood abruptly. "Fine. Fine, I'll do it, but I have a prefects meeting in ten minutes. Can I do it after?"

"Excellent!" he cried, momentarily forgetting where he was. The moth-ball covered librarian began to stalk towards us, and, noticing this, he quickly placed a hand on my back and propelled me towards the exit. "So after your meeting, I want you to meet me outside the Gryffindor common room entrance at, say, 8 o'clock? You can eat dinner first, of course."

I still couldn't bring myself to look at him. "Yeah, s'fine," I muttered, and began to walk towards the Entrance Hall's antechamber, where all the prefects were meeting the Head Boy and Girl.

"Ah, hold on." George grabbed my elbow and stepped very closely to me. I could feel his breath on my cheeks. Very slowly, he raised his hand to my face and rubbed my jaw. "You've got a bit of dirt just there."

My breathing was very shallow. "Erm, thanks," I whispered, feeling horrified. Then he stepped backwards with a self-satisfied smirk, and warned me that I was going to be late for my meeting.

"Lovely seeing you!" George called after me, laughter evident in his voice. I was mortified.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you liked the second chapter of Stand or Burn! Up next: a prefect meeting, Prudence does some thinking, what the heck is a Fainting Fancy? Stay tuned!**


	3. The Perfect Prefect

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR! Enjoy!**

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><p>The entire walk, I cursed George Weasley in my head. He probably loved embarrassing me…that was why he wanted to do this. I didn't buy any of his excuses or reasonings. They had probably just chosen me based on how much fun it would be to humiliate me. I wish we'd never crossed paths outside the kitchens that night.<p>

At the last moment, I remembered I was supposed to meet Martin, and dashed towards my common room.

"Hey!" he said with a grin. "I was thinking you'd forgotten."

I walked towards him shyly. "I almost did, I have to admit. My mind was somewhere else completely."

"Anything wrong?" he inquired thoughtfully as we walked down the corridor.

I shook my head, my dark hair flying every which way. "It's just a new year, our final year…I can hardly believe it."

"Me either. I feel like we should be back in third year, learning how to unlock doors and levitate our quills," he joked.

The two of us entered the antechamber to find everyone else already assembled. The prefects were all sitting together by house, a fact that I noticed sadly. Sure the Slytherins had always kept to themselves before, but now even the other three houses were separated. Martin and I took our seats with the rest of the Hufflepuffs, not wanting to be the only ones to sit differently.

"All right, now that we're all here, we can begin," said Jennifer Mickelson, the Head Girl, with a pointed look at Martin and I. She, like the Head Boy, was a Ravenclaw, and despite her extensive knowledge of magic and its properties, was a right bint. I couldn't stand her.

"Charles is going to be handing you all patrol schedules. Each prefect is required to fulfill three hours of patrol duty per week. We've already created a mock schedule, but obviously once quidditch and the other clubs start up again, it's going to get much more complicated, so what you all need to do is work out which nights and times work the best for you and get back to us as soon as possible," she spoke in her fake-sweet voice. Her cat eye glasses made her green eyes look even larger, and I noticed a few of the fifth years looking at her apprehensively.

"Now," she continued. "We may have to partner up with a prefect outside of our house. I don't think that I need to remind you that since you have all been chosen singlehandedly by our Heads of Houses and the Headmaster, that you should act as an example for the other students at all times. If I see, hear, or even think that two of you are going to misbehave towards one another, you will be reported to your proper house head, as well as Professor Dumbledore, and it _will _be going down on your permanent record."

A few of the Slytherins muttered angrily amongst themselves, but no one dared talk back to the Head Girl. "Anything you'd like to add Charles?"

Charles rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and returned to his position at Jennifer's side. "Look, I know that I'm not who any of you expected to see standing up here beside Jen," he said apologetically, and my body went rigid. Martin looked over at me.

"But the fact of the matter is that we can't bring him back, no matter how much we want to, and we have to stand united for the rest of the school to remind them that everything is okay. If the other students see us quarreling amongst ourselves, I can guarantee that your jobs to keep the peace will become ten times tougher. So let's buckle down and get this done, yeah?"

Everyone else seemed to think this a very good speech, as they began to applaud him, but I couldn't remove my hands from where they were clenched in my lap.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Martin muttered, and I hazily followed him out the door. "Are you all right?"

I forced myself to swallow. "Yeah it's just…I don't see why everyone has to keep bringing him up."

His blue eyes held my gaze. "I think they just don't want to forget about him. If we act like it's such a taboo subject, no one is going to talk about him, and then it will be like it never happened. Now I know people like you and me won't, but remember he wasn't close with the rest of Hogwarts like he was with us. They'll be more worried about their grades or who's going to ask them to Hogsmeade."

Martin thought that I was close to Cedric, but had I been? Had I really known him? I don't think that I could even say for certain what his favorite color was, or what he liked to eat at dinner. I had never gone to Hogsmeade with him, or sat beside him in the quidditch stands, and I was certain he had not gone into that maze thinking about me. But instead of saying all this, I simply nodded.

"Come on, let's go eat. I'm sure Grace has got some ridiculous story to tell us all," he said encouragingly.

Grace did, as it turns out, have a ridiculous story about someone who had thrown their quill through Professor Binns' head today during class. I didn't laugh, instead forcing down bangers and mash that my stomach clearly did not want. Feeling like I couldn't stand to sit there any longer, I decided to just head up to the Gryffindor Common Room. Martin frowned as I hastily left the table, but was distracted by Terrence questioning him about the Charms assignment, allowing my escape.

I wasn't sure exactly how to find the common room, but I knew that I had to take a left off of the main staircase on the seventh floor. Hopefully there were some other Gryffindors that I could follow.

The walk seemed to take forever, and I suddenly had much more appreciation for the fact that many Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were often running late. I never had to walk very far. I was beginning to feel apprehensive about my location.

Luckily for me, I spotted Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan ahead of me, and decided to follow at a safe distance. They seemed to be arguing.

"…me mam says what the Ministry says, and the Ministry says the truth!" Seamus cried out exasperatedly.

"How do you know? Has Harry ever lied to us before? Think about all the other times people thought he was lying and it turned out he was right the whole time," Dean countered, looking like he was seriously considering hitting his friend.

I really couldn't get away from this topic today. I drowned out their conversation as I began to put together what I knew into my head. Harry Potter had come out of the maze last spring clutching Cedric. Cedric was dead. Harry and Dumbledore said he was murdered, by You-Know-Who. The Ministry said he was lying. We had a Ministry worker in our midst. Harry had been attacked by dementors just before school had started up again. And the Slytherins had been particularly rowdy this week.

To be honest, I didn't have much stock in Fudge. He'd never seemed that authoritative to me, and it was clear the job was aging him, as displayed by his wrinkled face and graying hair. Dumbledore, on the other hand, was a bit eccentric, but also the greatest wizard of all time. I suspected he knew things that no others did, and probably had a better handle on the situation than Fudge.

That being said, how was it possible from him to be back? So what if he hadn't died? He'd…exploded or something, hadn't he? I'd seen the picture from Godric's Hollow. The roof was blown out. And where had he been for 14 years? Waiting for the right moment to strike?

"Hey! You're here!"

I was jarred from my analysis of the Fudge-Dumbledore debate by a loud voice. Dean and Seamus turned around and gave me funny looks as they headed in through a portrait of a very large woman wearing a pink dress.

"That's the Fat Lady," spoke who I was assuming was Fred. His sweater was slightly different than the one I'd seen George wearing today.

I blinked. "You call her the Fat Lady?"

"That is my name, my dear," she spoke, and in spite of myself, I jumped.

George extended his arm out in front of him. "After you, Prudence."

After a brief pause, I apprehensively stepped through the portrait hole. I'd never been in another house's common room, and to be honest wasn't really sure if it was allowed, or if it would be okay with the other Gryffindors.

The room was emblazoned in scarlet and gold. There were tapestries on the walls and huge, puffy couches and armchairs. Whereas the Hufflepuff common room was open and airy and light, this was close knit, almost like a lion's den, although I supposed that was the point.

"You like it?" George said from behind, startling me.

I looked at him sharply. "Would you quit that?"

Fred tossed an arm around my shoulder and began leading me through the room. "Hey everyone, have you met our dear friend Prudence? She's offered to assist George and Lee in Herbology, seeing as the pair of them have been receiving Trolls all week!"

At this declaration, the room exploded in laughter and applause. George and Lee began taking bows, clearly unaffected by the embarrassment. I myself had flushed cheeks. I didn't take kindly to being stared at by strangers, even if they weren't laughing at me specifically. I breathed a sigh of relief once Fred started heading up a spiral staircase.

I once again appreciated my common room. We had a tunnel instead of a stairwell, which required a lot less cardiovascular activity. We climbed for a good five minutes.

Their dormitory wasn't nearly as disgusting as I'd imagined it. Instead of their being socks and boxer shorts and rubbish all over the place, there were simply sheets of parchment and boxes filled with things from Zonko's and Gambol and Japes.

A boy stood in the corner, folding and putting away some clothing into his trunk. His section of the room was oddly neat.

"Ah Kenneth! It is rather unfortunate that you're here. Prudence was going to be helping us out with some Herbology homework. Who better than a Puffer right? And a prefect to boot!" Fred said enthusiastically. He was certainly one for dramatics.

Kenneth stood stiffly, and the light glinted off of his oddly plastic-looking hair. "I thought prefects had higher standards than that."

George got an ugly look on his face, but I beat him to it. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"No," Kenneth responded with a slight sneer.

"Then why are you judging me? Or did your mother not teach you proper etiquette for meeting new people?" I'd just lost one too many nerves today.

The boy pushed his glasses up on his face, grabbed some books off of his desk, and exited the room, all the while muttering under his breath.

Lee whistled. "Wow, we've never been able to get rid of him that quickly! Way to go, Prudence!"

Fred launched himself onto his bed. "Yeah, usually he's a real prat when we need the room. Doesn't like us much, I reckon."

"Perhaps it's because of that time in fifth year when you put Bulbadox Powder in his shorts?" George inquired innocently, rummaging through a box in the corner.

Fred propped himself up on his elbows. "Could be from the time that Lee spilled ink all over his dress robes."

"It just may be from when George threw his Potions assignment out the window into a rain storm," Lee pointed out.

I looked to George in horror. "What?"

He turned away for a moment. "He went too far," was all he said, and Fred and Lee nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, what we need you to test tonight is this candy which we call the Fainting Fancy. You'll pass out immediately, but you can stand by one of our beds so you don't hit your head." Fred motioned for me to stand by his bedside, but I remained firmly rooted.

"Hold on. If I'm going to be testing your products for you, at least tell me what for. What are you going to be doing with all this stuff exactly?" I folded my arms across my chest.

The three of them exchanged a look. Finally, George knelt down and picked up a particular piece of parchment that was done in color ink, handing it to me.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?" I said aloud, examining it. "A joke shop? The three of you are opening your own store?"

Fred nodded. "And before you go mouthing off about it, just know that we already have dozens of orders!"

"No," I shook my head. "I think this is amazing. I could never do anything as ambitious as this."

George looked intrigued. "You like the idea?"

"Sure," I said with a shrug. "And I'd like to help out. But only," I added, speaking over Lee's cheers, "if you pay me. I don't do free labor."

They all let out a hearty laugh and George clapped me on the back slightly, leading me towards his bed. "You sound just like Ron."

I blushed slightly at the feel of his hand on my shoulder, remembering how he'd touched my face just hours ago. He was certainly a flirt, I'd give him that. I think the flirtation, combined with the dramatics and constant limelight had been why I'd avoided the Weasley twins for six years.

"Now," George continued, completely oblivious to my mortification. "You'll hopefully pass out quickly, and I'll put the other end of the candy into your mouth, which will revive you."

I tossed the brightly colored toffee a suspicious look. "How do I know I won't go into a coma or a seizure or something?"

"Ah, we tested them on some first years already," Lee said carelessly. "'Course we got yelled at by Hermione, but it was worth it! We figured out the dosage of sleeping potion in them wasn't strong enough."

Still questioning how I'd gotten myself into this mess, I took the toffee from George's hand and bit into it.

The next thing I knew, I was awoken by a hand reaching into my mouth. "Did it work?"

"Oh yes!" Fred cried out excitedly, rubbing his hands together. "You went out like you'd been hit in the head with a bludger."

"Or two!" George added gleefully. Lee was happily scribbling down results.

I rubbed my eyes. Exhaustion must have been a side effect. "So can I go now?"

The twins grinned at one another. "No! We've got an entire batch that needs to be tested!"

I wound up passing out eleven more times. At this point, I was ready to crawl into my bed, and was growing irritated at the constant smiles that were upon their faces. "Now can I go?"

"After you eat this," George said, handing me a chocolate bar. "Don't worry, it won't make you faint, I promise. This is from Honeyduke's."

Incredulously, I took it from him and chewed on a small piece. "How did you get this? We haven't been to Hogsmeade yet."

"Let's just say that we happen to have very extensive knowledge about the castle and its surrounding area," Fred said mysteriously.

Why was I not surprised? The three of them didn't seem like the kind of students who stayed within their boundaries. George settled down beside me on his bed and nodded to the chocolate.

"Eat up," he spoke, and I took another bite. It was filled with caramel.

Lee finished his frantic scribbling of the results and tossed down his quill. "So Prudence, tell us about yourself."

I swallowed. "Er, what do you want to know?"

"Hmm…" Fred stroked his chin. "How come I never saw you talking to anyone until this term?"

George shot him a look but I wasn't offended. It wasn't exactly a secret that I always sat alone, whether I was in class, the Great Hall, or the library. "I'm not very good with people," I admitted. "And my dormmates and I didn't understand each other. Noel and I still don't."

"You got on with Cedric though," George said softly. It was the first time he'd spoken to me without any pretense of a joke.

I took my time eating the chocolate before answering. "Cedric was different," I managed. "It wasn't hard to speak to him, or exhausting. And I didn't have to worry that he was making fun of me behind my back. He was the most genuine person I ever met."

It was news to me that the Weasleys had paid any attention to me whatsoever before now. Maybe I hadn't been as invisible as I'd thought. And why did everyone keep bringing up Cedric with me?

I finished the bar as quickly as I could and stood. "Well, I should get going. Thanks for the chocolate."

George sprung up. "I'll escort you out," he offered. "And here's today's earnings."

I accepted the five gold Galleons from him and stuck them in my pocket. He opened the door for me and I refrained from blushing for the millionth time today.

"You did really well," he said conversationally as we made our way down the long staircase.

Shrugging, I glanced back at him. "Wasn't much to it."

"True, but some of the first years cried after taking just one Fainting Fancy, and you took twelve." There was a trace of a smirk on his face.

We reached the common room, which was much quieter now. "They're still children, George. You can't expect them to like passing out. It is rather disconcerting."

He nodded in acceptance, sticking his hands into the pockets of his trousers. "Well, I suppose this is you."

I turned to him suddenly. "Why did you _really _choose me to test your products?"

His face split into a wide grin, and his brown eyes danced with laughter. "Good night Prudence."

He shut the portrait behind me with a chuckle, and I set off for my common room with a sigh. This had been the strangest day of my life.

* * *

><p>The next morning, I was awoken by Grace yanking back my blinds. "Wake up Prudence! It's potions today, which means you'll be partnered with Martin!"<p>

I cringed at her loud, perky voice, and blearily sat up. Noel's hangings were still closed, but she was most likely awake and cursing Grace's existence.

"What time is it?" The dormitory was still in darkness.

The blonde tugged on my covers, and I reluctantly stood. "Six o clock!"

"What?! I'm going back to sleep!" Grace pinched my upper arm skin as I tried to return to the warmth of my bed.

"I'm going to help you get ready this morning," she said sweetly, ushering me into the lavatory.

I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. "What exactly are you going to do?"

"Oh, just some eyebrow tweezing, exfoliating, deep conditioning, and of course your outfit and makeup," she rattled off, opening the large drawer where she kept her beauty supplies.

An hour later, I hardly recognized myself. My skin was clearer and smoother than it had been since puberty, my hair was shiny and bouncy, and I found myself gazing into my eyes with interest. The liner she had used emphasized them appealingly.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked her. "And how do you do this every day?"

Grace waved a hand. "You get used to it. And I'm doing it because I know they're going to be putting up the announcement for the first Hogsmeade weekend any day now, and I want Martin to ask you."

I checked to make sure that the door was firmly closed, not wanting Noel to overhear. "Why are you pushing this Martin issue so much? Are you just doing it to make Noel mad?"

"Well, originally that was the plan…but as it turns out Martin really does like you," she confided, running a comb through her hair.

"What?" I choked out. "How do you know that?"

My palms began to sweat. How was I supposed to talk to him with this information running around my head?

Grace smirked as she applied her lip gloss. "I asked him."

"And he just…told you?"

"Yeah well Martin's not the kind of person to hide his emotions. He's such an open book. He never even liked Noel anyway, said she was too hollow for him, whatever that means."

She spoke about this so bluntly. Noel was supposed to be her best friend, and here she was trying to play matchmaker with the boy Noel fancied and a girl she hated. I felt extremely uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Oh. Well, I don't think that Martin and I would be such a good idea."

"Why not?" Grace whipped around to face me. "Is this because of Weasley?"

My mouth dropped open. "What? No! It's just that, I've only been speaking to Martin for a few days. And, and I don't really think I'm the kind of girl that would be very good in a relationship anyway. I can barely speak to him as a friend."

"Oh come on Prue, he's totally head over heels for you! He's a really nice guy. And a good snogger," she added with a wink.

My cheeks flushed. "I'll think about it, okay Grace?"

This promise seemed to make her happy, and I escaped back to the dormitory to get dressed. Sure, Martin was really nice, but it didn't change the fact that he'd ignored me for six years. Not to mention it was obvious that Noel still had feelings for him. And I was too shy to be someone's girlfriend. I didn't think our conversations would ever get very far.

The entire walk to breakfast, Grace kept whispering tips into my ear. "Smile when you see him, but no teeth! Don't eat anything sloppy, he doesn't want to see you slurping about. Try eating some strawberries, or a banana. Oh, and you should brush your arm and leg up against him every once in a while. It'll really get him going."

I didn't want to get anyone going anywhere. With a sigh, I reluctantly followed her through the doors into the Great Hall. As predicted, the space next to Martin was left open, and I settled beside him as quietly as I could.

"Good morning Prudence," he grinned. "I made you some tea."

I blinked, glancing down at the cup in front of me. "Oh, oh! Thanks Martin, that was really sweet of you."

Grace kicked me under the table, and mouthed the words, 'touch him!'

"I really appreciate it," I added, awkwardly patting his bicep. Grace made a face as if to say, 'that'll do.'

"Sure thing," Martin winked. I felt a vague stirring in my stomach. Perhaps I did feel something for Martin. Oh I didn't know! All I knew was that I was more confused than ever.

Breakfast was a relatively awkward affair. Grace kept handing me various foods off of her plate, insisting that they were just to die for, and I should try it. Martin watched fascinatedly as she forced me to eat some yogurt off of her spoon. After that, I refused to try anything else she offered.

During potions, Martin kept insisting that he had to show me the proper way to stir, placing his hand over mine, but when I got so nervous that I almost knocked some hellebore into the concoction, he thankfully stopped. I breathed a sigh of relief when he'd dropped me off at Professor Babbling's classroom. My nerves were frayed from trying to act normally.

I sat alone, contentedly, and allowed my mind to focus on the task at hand, translating the sentences on the board. Babbling let class out several minutes early, as she had a headache, and I was the first one to arrive to Umbridge's classroom. I eagerly took out To Kill a Mockingbird, which I'd meant to finish two days ago. Slowly, other students began trickling in, and I vaguely wondered whether or not Martin was going to sit beside me.

"Prudence," I heard a voice call, and sure enough there he was, entering the classroom.

Before I could respond to him, however, George slid in next to me. "What are you doing?"

"Just sitting beside my favorite Hufflepuff," he winked, then leaned in closer. "Look, I need to talk to you about our next testing session," he whispered. Martin tossed me a questioning look and settled beside Terrence. Grace gave me a glare and moodily returned to her conversation with Patrick.

With a sigh, I turned to him, ready to get it over with, but Umbridge entered the room. "Wands away," she requested, although no one had bothered to take their wands out in the first place.

"Open your books to page 96 please, and read the chapter detailing how to defend yourself against various magical creatures."

Was this what the entire year was going to be like? Reading and taking notes out of our book? Were we ever going to practice spells, or duel, or do anything useful? How was this going to prepare us for graduation? I wouldn't be of any use as a healer if I couldn't identify the sorts of curses that my patients were injured with, and I certainly wouldn't be able to undo them.

My eyes blearily followed the text on the page, which suddenly began to change form.

_Can't do tonight,_ it read. _Friday at nine?_

I cast a sideways glance at George, who was twiddling his thumbs in an attempt to look inconspicuous. I nodded at him slightly and returned to the reading, which had thankfully gone back to normal. That was unusually clever magic, and it had been done wordlessly too. He could apparently do nonverbal spells. George was a lot cleverer than he let on.

Class let out after what seemed like three hours, and George got up and left without another word to me. I barely had time to cast him a confused glance before Martin was at my side.

"Why was Weasley sitting next to you?" he inquired too quickly to seem casual.

His blue eyes stared down at me. "Oh, er, I don't know. He kind of just sat there and didn't say anything."

"Probably trying to get you into trouble again," Martin muttered angrily, taking my satchel from my shoulder and slinging it over his.

I quirked a brow at Grace and mouthed, 'territorial much?' She shrugged and nudged me even closer to his side. He smiled down at me. What on earth was I getting myself into?

While we were eating dinner after our final class of the day, Transfiguration, Patrick brought up the topic of a party that some sixth years were throwing in the common room on Friday. Grace excitedly began chattering about what she was going to wear, and Patrick and Terrence began betting on which fifth year was going to pass out first.

Martin turned to me and a heavy pit seemed to settle into my stomach. "Fancy going with me?" he asked, his arm much too close to mine to be incidental.

"That sounds nice," I spoke carefully, trying not to appear too eager but also attempting not to hurt his feelings. "What time?"

He shrugged. "The parties typically start around nine."

My eyes darted over to the Gryffindor table where Fred and George were amusing their housemates with a joke. "Oh I uh, promised someone that I'd help them with Herbology homework at that time."

"You're tutoring someone at nine on a Friday?"

Grace turned her head ever so slightly towards me. "Well, they're pretty embarrassed about having to be tutored, and they wanted to do it at a time that no one else would be studying."

Martin frowned. "Well, I guess I can understand that. But you'll come after?"

"Sure," I nodded, playing with my fork.

"Good." He gave my hand a slight squeeze before joining in on the betting with Patrick and Terrence.

I returned to watching George, who was now charming someone's pudding to shout obscenities. Why was my heart pounding so much?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Stay tuned for a Puffer party, the effects of a Nosebleed Nougat, and a potential new alliance!**


	4. There Ain't No Party Like a Puffer Party

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Thursday went by in a blur. Grace continued to hiss tips into my ear and force me upon Martin, who seemed all too eager. Astronomy had become my favorite class. Sinistra didn't care if we talked so long as we got our work done, and the twins were actually quite amusing when they weren't fishing for the attention of the entire room. I'd determined that Fred was more of the showman between the pair. Sure George could add his flair in when he wanted to, but usually he just let his brother play off of him. Lee was like the buffer, the one that stopped the pair from getting too out of hand, and he seemed to have more of a level head about him.<p>

Plus, it was nice to have a class free of Grace and Martin. The only other Hufflepuff taking Astronomy was Noel, who kept to herself. As long as Grace wasn't shoving the fact that Martin fancied me in her face, she didn't seem to have an issue with me.

She'd been sleeping in the boys' dormitory lately. I don't think she was taking kindly to Grace's passive aggressive Martin-Prudence speak. I myself began wishing that I could get away from her. Grace was very controlling, and her constant perkiness was getting on my last nerve. In fact, I was currently counting down the minutes until I could escape to Gryffindor Tower.

"Do you like this little black dress, or this one?" she asked, holding up two nearly identical articles of clothing. She turned towards me inquiringly.

I frowned like I was thinking hard on the subject. "Definitely the second one."

I'd become rather adept at Grace-speak in the past week.

"You're so right," she sighed, stripping down to her knickers. "Now it's time to pick out your outfit!

"I don't want anything too fancy, all right? Can't be showing up to tutor looking like I'm headed out to the club, yeah?"

The look on her face was slightly terrifying. "I have _just _the thing!"

After twenty minutes of having various bits of clothing chucked at my head, she finally found what she was looking for. I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's actually not too bad."

The top was black, long-sleeved, and lacy. I slid it on over a black tank top and my jeans, before sliding into my well-worn riding boots. I'd allowed Grace to straighten my hair, but drew the line at the gold lipstick and turquoise eyeliner.

"Come on! It's time to go!" she all but yelled. I sighed, grabbed my satchel so I could at least keep up the pretense of tutoring, and reluctantly followed her out the door and down the tunnel. The smell of alcohol wafted into my nose, and I was instantly reminded of why I usually spent my Friday nights in the library.

The music was loud, bottles of Firewhiskey and Butterbeer whizzed around the room, and a gaggle of fourth year girls were dancing atop the table.

"I'm going to get going," I shouted into Grace's ear.

She turned to me in shock. "What? Not yet! You've got to say hello to Martin, he did ask you here after all!"

I could feel my eyelid twitching in irritation. First of all, I wasn't Martin's date. Secondly, he invited me to a party that was open to any student in our entire house. There were first years running around on the dance floor for God's sake. "Right, yes," I muttered as we weaved our way through the crowd.

People were yelling left and right. A group of students were playing strip-Exploding Snap, and Patrick was shotgunning two cans of beer simultaneously. Noel looked disinterested.

"Hey, you made it!" Martin exclaimed, leaning in and kissing me on the cheek. His stubble rubbed against my skin and made me cringe slightly.

"I actually have to get going," I said apologetically. "Don't want to be late. Tutoring and all that."

Martin swayed slightly on his feet, indicating that he was well on his way to a drunken stupor. "Hurry back!"

Without bothering to respond, I hightailed it out of the common room, gasping for breath by the time I reached the corridor. The smell of smoke and alcohol followed me out, and I prayed to Merlin that no professors were patrolling on the first floor.

I wished there was a way for me to return to the anonymity that I had last term. The absolute last thing that I wanted to do was go back into that crowded room and be forced to endure a night full of completely pissed Puffers.

I checked my watch as I came up to the sixth floor. 9:03. Curse Grace Bukowski. If I'd just left when I wanted to…

I rounded the corner of the top floor and spotted George leaned up against the walls with his eyes shut. A grin slid across my face as an idea popped into my head.

As quietly as I could, I walked over to where he was standing, got right next to his ear, and screamed, "GEORGE!"

"AHHHH!" he yelped, jumping about a foot in the air. "Merlin Prudence, what are you trying to do, scare me out my wits?"

I shrugged. "I didn't think you had any wits to begin with."

George shot me a look. "Ha-ha. Come on, let's head on up then."

He whispered the password to the Fat Lady, who gave a disapproving glare. Perhaps because I'd startled her, or because I wasn't a Gryffindor. The common room was surprisingly empty, and the still of the air calmed me.

George gave a long yawn, then gestured for me to go up the stairs first. "Hard night?" I inquired.

"We were working on our Skiving Snackboxes until three in the morning," he muttered.

"You seemed much more awake in class today," I observed, glancing back at him. He wasn't looking at my face.

He dodged a kick I aimed at him and caught my foot, tripping me onto the carpeted step. "Oi, watch it Turner! And yes, caffeine is a wonderful invention."

With a scowl, I allowed him to help me back on my feet. "You deserved that kick."

He placed one hand on his door, preventing me from entering. "You're telling me," he began with a smirk, "that if there was a foxy Puffer walking up the stairs in front of you that you wouldn't sneak a peek at their bum?"

"Hardly," I sniffed. "Only like Claw bums myself."

George chuckled and opened the door. We were greeted by a mini-firework exploding in our faces, causing me to shriek and duck behind him.

"Ah Prudence! Like our prototype?" Fred said with a wink, pulling me out from behind his brother. The dormitory was coated with ashes.

Lee briefly glanced up from the parchment he was writing on, raised his wand, and the soot disappeared.

"Please tell me that's not what I'm testing." I folded my arms as I eyed the twins warily.

George grinned. "Don't be silly, we'd never make you ingest a firework!"

"Yeah!" Fred added. "Just this Nosebleed Nougat!"

I blinked. "Did I hear the word bleed?" A small piece of chocolate was pressed into my palm.

"You certainly did my dear," George winked. "Guaranteed to get you out of class in five seconds flat!"

Frowning, I glared down at my hand. "I don't particularly enjoy blood," I warned them.

"Not to worry," Fred responded. "This is the candy that will stop the bleeding. Or at least, it should."

Seeing my panicked expression, George gently settled me on his bed. "We've already tested this, remember? We bled for an hour and had to drink a Blood-Replenishing potion. But we adjusted the blood thinners in it, so it should stop right away."

The room was silent for a moment as the three of them watched me eagerly. With a sigh, I forced the nougat into my unwilling mouth and chewed. Almost instantaneously, blood began to pour out of my nostrils, and Fred hastily handed me a handkerchief.

"Eat the other bit," George urged, and I pressed it into my mouth as quickly as I could without consuming my own bodily fluid.

The blood didn't stop flowing. "Erm, guys?"

"Just give it another minute, perhaps." Fred tried to hide his worried expression.

Lee jumped up. "And erm, come into the bathroom."

I was too freaked out to be revolted. I hated men's loos, they were always disgusting, but thankfully the floor was tidy and the counter clean. Lee turned on the tap and I let the blood wash down the drain, creating a strange pattern on the porcelain.

The three of them hovered anxiously by the door until finally, six minutes later, the last of the blood trickled down into the sink.

"How do you feel?" George asked.

I attempted to take a step towards them and found myself staring at four Weasleys. "Um…"

"Get her on the bed, get her on the bed." They jumped into action, the twins grabbing my arms and propelling me onto the nearest mattress.

Dizzily, I gazed up at the canopy. "I'm guessing…that wasn't supposed to happen?"

"No," George said nervously. "It wasn't."

The three of them conversed quietly for a moment.

"Prudence, you're going to stay here for a while, okay? Have a rest."

I managed to nod, my eyelids already fluttering shut. They all headed towards the door. "No, someone stay…please…" I whispered, and I vaguely felt the weight at the end of the bed shift. The door closed and the room became silent, and I let my body give in to the events of the day.

When I awoke, the room was dimly lit and there was no sound coming from the common room below. "George?"

The redhead turned in surprise from his position atop his desk, where he was tinkering with a teacup. "You're awake."

I glanced around for a clock. "What time is it?"

"About half past eleven," George responded.

"What?! I need to get back!" I cried, tossing aside the covers and scrambling to my feet, only to fall backwards as my vision became suddenly dark.

George leapt over to me. "Easy there woman, what are you, nuts? You passed out due to blood loss and you get up like that?"

I clutched at his arm that wrapped around my shoulder, allowing him to gently sit me upright. "And whose fault is that?"

"I'm really sorry about," he said guiltily, gripping my upper arms and slowly bringing me to a standing position. "You don't have to test anything else of ours, I'll give you the rest of the money now."

I shook my head as quickly as I dared. "No, I need to earn the money. And besides, I want to help."

George gave me a funny look. "Really? Even after you bled out of your nose for ten minutes?"

"Well, maybe I wouldn't want to if I could run," I joked as we made our way over to the door, still gripping his arm for support.

He chuckled as we headed down the steps. My feet grew steadier underneath me by the time we reached the common room, where Fred and Lee were dozing off by the fire.

"I think I'll be all right from here," I said to George. "You should go to bed, you were tired hours ago."

"Nah," he responded, wrapping an arm more securely around my waist. "Wouldn't be much of a Gryffindor if I didn't take you back to your dormitory now, would I?"

I rolled my eyes but was secretly glad. I didn't think I'd be able to make it very far on my own. "Those sodding nougats were really strong. Whatever you cut the dosage of blood thinners by before, I'd cut that in half."

George nodded, tucking his free hand into his pocket. "Don't worry, we won't make you test that one again. I'll just make Fred do it."

"Why do I get the feeling that Fred does a lot of the testing and not you?"

"Because I'm generally more brilliant than him and am therefore much more valuable?" He fluttered his lashes at me innocently and I laughed quietly, not wishing to get caught after curfew when I wasn't in the position to be able to move very quickly.

The walk was a relatively peaceful one. Once we got down to the lower floors, we didn't really talk, as we weren't sure who was out patrolling, but it wasn't awkward in the slightest. There were a few times where I'd stumbled, and I'd caught George's eye and the two of us started giggling. It was the most fun I'd had all week.

Finally, we reached the stack of barrels, and I untangled myself from his arm. "This is me."

"This is you," George agreed, surveying me carefully. "You should be all right with a good night's sleep, but if you still feel off in the morning, come find me and I'll get you a Blood Replenishing potion, yeah?"

I nodded as he turned and began to walk away. "George," I called softly.

The redhead glanced back, his hands in his pockets.

I bit my lip. "Thanks. For, you know, walking me back."

"Doing my duty as a student of Gryffindor House," he replied with a wink.

Rolling my eyes to myself, I tapped on the barrel and carefully made my way through the tunnel.

"Oh no…" I whispered in horror. I'd completely forgotten about the party, which was in full swing.

"Hey, look who's back!" a drunken Grace slurred, her firewhiskey sloshing onto the floor. Terrence was mauling her neck.

I took a quick surveillance of the scene. Many students had already passed out, some on the couches, some on the floor, and some were even floating around in the air, undoubtedly a prank pulled by their music raged louder than ever, and by now dozens of drinks had been spilled onto every surface.

Hufflepuffs were not known for holding their booze.

"Prudence, where've you been?" Martin cried, stumbling his way over to me and crushing me in a bear hug.

His breath reeked of alcohol. "Erm, Martin, how much have you had to drink?"

He turned his head up to the ceiling. "I dunno, four, seven?"

"Right then, let's sit you down," I decided, guiding him over to an empty chair. As I helped him into it, he reached out and pulled me into his lap. I nearly passed out again at the quick movement, and struggled against him. "Martin, let me go."

He pouted. "But you've been gone all night, I missed you!"

"Martin. Let. Go," I spoke through gritted teeth, my patience growing thin.

Suddenly, he slumped backwards against the chair and began to snore. "You all right?"

I turned to find a very sober, very irritated Noel. "Erm, yes, thanks."

"I've been playing Mommy all night," she grouched, snatching a drink out of the hands of a third year that ran by.

"Well, I'm headed to bed. Are you coming?" I asked, not quite sure how to respond.

Noel tossed back her strawberry blonde hair and watched Grace spinning around in the middle of the dance floor in disgust. "Hell yes."

The two of us picked our way across the room, stepping over passed out students and couples snogging as we went. My head was pounding, and I ached for the silence of the Gryffindor common room. I breathed a sigh of relief as the door shut behind us.

"Thanks again for Martin," I said quietly, walking over to my trunk and pulling out pajamas.

"Don't mention it." From the tone of her voice, I made a mental note to definitely never mention it again. I watched as she readied herself for bed, placing a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin on Grace's bedside.

She saw me looking and rolled her eyes. "She's even more of a bint than usual when she's hungover."

I nodded and pulled on my nightclothes in silence, trying to find the right words. "Noel, I think I misjudged you."

"Oh?" Her voice gave nothing away, and I couldn't see her face as she was staring out the window, so I plowed ahead.

"I thought all these years that the two of you never liked me, but, maybe, I could've been nicer. I didn't really make much of an effort. And, for the record, I don't fancy Martin. I promise." She said nothing, so I wandered into the bathroom in defeat to remove my makeup and brush my teeth.

I don't know what I expected. It's not like she would've grabbed my hands and we'd have started to sing Kumbayah or anything. Plus, by the time I finished preparing for bed, Noel's hangings were already shut, putting a definite end to that conversation. With a sigh, I clambered into my own bed, extinguishing the lamps with my wand.

I awoke at nine the next morning, and decided to get a jumpstart on the day while everyone else was asleep. As silently as I could, I showered, dressed, plaited back my hair, and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.

The common room was still littered with sleeping students, although it was clear the house elves had stopped by. The rubbish was gone, as were the alcohol stains in the carpet. Martin remained passed out in the armchair, and someone had inked his face with a very feminine-looking dragon.

The Great Hall was nearly deserted, with only a few Ravenclaws and professors at their respective tables. Happily, I settled myself onto the bench and poured myself a cup of tea, munching on a few biscuits as I took out my book. I was absolutely determined to finish it.

I reveled in the early morning. The main thing I loved about not being a party person was having the castle mostly to myself. I read my book to the end, finally leaving the world of the Finches behind, then grabbed my satchel and headed to the library to get some work done.

Charles Goldstein was the only one in there when I arrived, and he nodded as I passed by. Huh. I was even getting acknowledged by the Head Boy now. My life had gotten very interesting lately. Shaking my head, I took a seat at my table near the back and spread my books out on the surface.

"I've got Charms, Potions, Transfig, and Herbology…" I murmured to myself. Technically, I had Defense homework, but honestly, I didn't care. A shiver ran down my spine and I smirked at my own pathetic little rebellion.

By the time I'd finished my first essay on the properties of the momentum spell for Flitwick, other students had begun to trickle in. Around one in the afternoon, my stomach began to rumble uncontrollably, and I packed my bag up with a sigh. I still had so much more work to get done.

On my way out of the library, I spotted George turning the corner. "George! Hey, George!" I called out, walking faster so I could catch up.

The redhead slowed his pace as he turned and saw who was flagging him down. "Hey, how are you feeling this morning?"

I frowned, noticing the bags underneath his eyes. "You didn't sleep well?"

"No I, uh, had detention rather early this morning," he said bitterly, rubbing the back of his hand.

"Umbridge?" I gasped, grabbing his arm. 'I must not break curfew' was etched into his hand, the words mixing with 'I must not disrupt the class.'

George gently retracted his hand. "I got caught walking back last night. I knew I should've been more careful, I was just exhausted is all."

"George I am so sorry, it's all my fault," I started, but he shushed me.

"Nonsense, nonsense. I know this castle like the, well, the back of my hand, and I should've known someone would be patrolling the third floor." He began to walk again and I followed him, guiltily eyeing his injury.

We walked in silence for a while, until he finally turned to me in exasperation. "Prudence, for the love of Merlin, stop feeling badly about it. It's not your fault!"

I shot him a look. "Fine. But do you need anything for your hand? Essence of Murtlap works wonders."

"I've got some yeah, but I think I'll leave it for now. It'll fuel my hatred for that troll of a woman," he snarled.

With an awkward pat on the shoulder, I departed for the Hufflepuff table. I wasn't quite sure how to talk to George when he was in such a foul mood. It was very out of character for him. With a sigh, I forced myself to sit next to Grace, who was cradling her head in her hands.

"Afternoon," I said quietly, helping myself to some shepherd's pie.

She mumbled something incoherent and shifted slightly to reveal several hickies on her neck.

"Hi Prudence." Martin ran a hand through his hair anxiously. The ink had been washed off of his face.

I waved slightly, swallowing my mouth full of food. "How are you feeling?"

"Not too badly, thankfully. We've got to head down to the pitch soon and prepare for tryouts tomorrow."

Patrick was vomiting into his school bag and Terrence was snoring with his elbow in his pudding. "It will be a short practice," Martin decided.

We ate our meals in silence once Patrick had recovered. Noel patted his back, looking extremely revolted.

"I'm going to head down to the pitch…walk with me Prudence?" Martin requested as he stood.

I shot Noel an apologetic look and received a glare. With a sigh, I reluctantly put down my fork and followed him out into the Entrance Hall. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering, did I do anything to offend you last night? I remember seeing you walk back into the common room, but I don't remember anything else."

Well, there was the fact that you forced me onto your lap and refused to let go, even when I grew angry.

He tucked his hands into his pockets, looking anxious. "…Prudence?"

"No, nothing you have to worry about," I said finally.

Martin looked visibly relieved. "Great! I was worried I'd done something embarrassing. Well, I guess I'll see you later?"

"Sure, yeah."

Why did I dread it?

The rest of the weekend passed quickly. Most of Sunday was dedicated to homework, which was also a good excuse to avoid Martin and the lot. Not to mention, I wanted to get ahead on the reading for Charms and Transfiguration, as those were the classes I struggled with the most, and I was determined to do well on my NEWTs.

"Prudence, Grace, come check this out!" Terrence called as we entered the common room on Monday morning.

Grace sauntered over. "What's up?"

Martin gestured to the notice board. "Look."

"High Inquisitor…?" My brow creased as I scanned over the piece of parchment. "What does that even mean? And she's inspecting classes? For what?"

"So she can go back to her little bitch Fudge and tell her what a terrible school Dumbledore's running, obviously," Noel remarked scathingly.

Patrick gave his girlfriend a surprised look. "Damn babe, calm down, it's probably nothing."

Noel fixed him with a death glare that just about terrified me into the next century. "No. I'm sick of Umbridge! I think we've all had a pretty damn good education up to this point, don't you? Who does she think she is, 'inspecting' the other professors? I think I'll end up just fine without her class."

"Noel, you can't skive off class," I murmured, not wanting her anger to become directed at me.

Her gaze softened ever so slightly for a moment, then hardened. "So tell her I'm ill."

We all turned and watched her storm back to our dormitory. To be honest, I wanted to join her.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you liked this chapter! Feel free to drop a review! Next time, lines are drawn, allegiances made, and Prudence finds herself in a most unfamiliar situation.**

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	5. Staying Positive(ly Miserable)

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

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><p>This was turning out to be a completely unbearable Monday. The breakfast conversation revolved around the defending of Umbridge, unbelievably. Terrence and Martin's parents both had jobs at the Ministry, Grace was too dull to have a different opinion, and Patrick had been notoriously anti-Dumbledore since he'd passed him up for prefect twice.<p>

There were conversations like this all around the school. Potions was awful. One nasty Slytherin named Montague was loudly speaking about how he'd quite like to see Umbridge become Headmistress so everyone could be 'put in their place.' I'd exchanged an ugly look with Lee, who looked fit to murder.

Ancient Runes was only slightly better, as there were fewer Slytherins. However, there were many future Ministry workers among our ranks, and I was forced to listen to two Ravenclaws talk about how Dumbledore was "starting to go."

By the time I got to Defense class, I felt as though I was going to explode. There was an open seat next to both Martin and Grace, who were staring at me, but I turned my back on them and settled in between the twins.

"Prudence!" Fred exclaimed. "What a lovely surprise."

George winked. "It appears that we've brought you to the dark side."

"The dark side meaning the back row? I couldn't give a sod about this class," I muttered furiously.

Lee peered around George's shoulder. "Do you feel like you're going to kill someone as well?"

The door closed behind Umbridge, who looked perfectly content with her stupid pink bow resting on her fat head. "Oh yeah," I responded darkly.

Though the four of us did not dare talk in her class, we exchanged notes with the spell that George had used on me several days ago. Mostly, it just confirmed what I already knew. The school was turning against Dumbledore. Despite most students despising Umbridge, no one was willing to side against the Ministry.

Was I sure that You-Know-Who was back? No. But did I believe that our Headmaster would lie to us? Certainly not. Dumbledore had always led our school in the right direction before, and I decided to trust him. And if I was going to take him at his word, then I had to accept the fact that the Wizarding world was in mortal peril whether from the Death Eaters, You Know Who, or both.

The class went by rather quickly, what with our textbook-conversations. There were several times where I could barely contain my laughter. Fred was quite a talented artist with his wand, and by the end, I was thoroughly cheered up.

I tried to flee the room with the twins as the bell rang, but Grace moved too quickly.

"How dare you do that to Martin?" she hissed in my ear, digging her talons into my skin. "You really hurt his feelings!"

I raised a brow. "What do you care about Martin's feelings?" I asked coolly, allowing her to drag me into the Great Hall for lunch. "You've been screwing with them just so you could stick it to Noel."

Her sparkly mouth was agape, but she lost the chance to respond as Patrick and Terrence joined us.

"I think that chapter actually had some useful information in it," Terrence stated as he stuffed a roll into his mouth hungrily.

Martin settled himself beside me and reached across my plate to get to the grilled chicken. "Yeah, especially that stuff on protection spells."

Was I in a parallel universe? "You guys are all mad."

The conversation died down as they turned to stare at me.

"What is with you today?" Grace asked disbelievingly.

"Me? What's with the lot of you? Suddenly you're on Umbridge's side?" My temper was quickly rising.

Martin laid a hand on my arm. "Prudence, I think you should calm down. We're not saying we agree with Umbridge, but we do agree that perhaps Dumbledore isn't leading the school as…stably as he has in years past."

As I watched the bobbing heads of Terrence, Patrick, and Grace, I decided I'd had enough. "Good for you," I said, tossing down my fork. The sound attracted the attention of nearly half the table, but for once I didn't care. "Enjoy your lunch, hope it won't be too difficult trying to eat while your heads are up your arses!"

Grabbing my satchel, I stormed across the hall to where Fred, George, and Lee were eating at the Gryffindor table. "Mind if I sit here?"

Fred's blueberry pie fell off of his fork in surprise, and I was consciously aware of nearly every set of eyes in the hall watching me.

"Of course you can!" George declared smoothly, shoving his bag onto the floor to clear a space for me.

I sat down with as much dignity as I could. "Couldn't bloody take it anymore."

George patted my arm comfortingly. "Prudence, we've got something to discuss with you, not about the products, but something more important. Can you come to our dorm tonight after your prefect rounds?"

"Of course," I answered shortly, stabbing at the potatoes that Fred spooned onto my plate. I'd forgotten about my rounds…I had them after dinner with Martin. Bloody fantastic.

I tried to drag my day out as long as possible, dreading when I'd have to answer for my lunch time outburst. The school had changed topic from Dumbledore's insanity to my temper tantrum. I guess it was only fair, seeing as how the majority of the people in the room had probably assumed that I was mute. My yelling had taken them all by surprise.

The school was growing more divided by the minute. Even as I walked the corridors, I could see it. People who were known Dumbledore supporters, especially me, who had just made that very clear, were getting glares from those who backed Fudge. I even saw a few jinxes get cast before professors could put a stop to it.

I walked to Herbology alone for the first time this term, not caring where the others even were. I strided purposefully into the greenhouse, trying not to show everyone how much I was trembling, and settled myself onto a stool beside Noel.

She eyed me carefully. "Where's Grace?"

"Wouldn't know. I may have blown up at them during lunch." I pretended to be very interested in the plants that were set up on the tables before us.

Noel nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think I may have heard something about that."

"Like, 'Prudence Turner is a crazy bint?'" I inquired innocently.

She cracked a smile finally. "You know, I think I saw that scrawled on one of the stalls in the fourth floor loo."

The pair of us laughed together, attracting even more looks. I flushed and sat rigidly in my seat.

"Prudence, relax would you? You're not doing yourself any favors by acting like a freak," Noel said as she rolled her eyes.

There was a commotion as the greenhouse door opened, and Patrick, Terrence, Martin, and Grace strolled in. Grace had her arm wrapped around Martin's bicep, but his mind appeared to be elsewhere. We made eye contact and I hastily looked away.

Patrick shot Noel a filthy look as he and Terrence took their places at the back of the room. "Damn, what did you do to Patrick?"

"Told him he could date Umbridge instead," she said as she took out her compact mirror and adjusted her makeup.

It seemed like Umbridge's little Educational Decree had drawn very harsh lines in the sand, so to speak. There was no middle ground; you were either with Fudge, or you were with Dumbledore. Was this what Harry Potter felt like all the time, ridiculed and declared a liar? I felt a sudden rush of gratitude for him.

I honestly tried my best to pay attention to Sprout, but I simply did not care what the properties of Asphodel were. My mind drifted back to Cedric. I wondered which side of the line he would be on? His father was a Ministry worker in the department of Magical Sports and Games, pretty highly ranked, but he'd always been very adamant with his support of Dumbledore. I was painfully reminded that if he'd come out of that maze alive, none of this would be happening. He would be sitting next to Martin, and I'd be sitting three rows ahead of him and daydreaming about his smile. I gripped the table tightly.

I missed him. I missed him so much. I shouldn't be doing my prefect rounds with Martin. Charles Goldstein shouldn't be Head Boy. Umbridge shouldn't be at Hogwarts. I shouldn't be sitting beside Noel.

"God, that bitch," came from beside me, and I followed Noel's gaze. Grace was shamelessly flirting with Martin, her hands running all over his shoulders as she giggled and nudged him playfully.

"You can do so much better than that." Noel gave me a surprised look, but I simply shrugged. It was true. Martin may have been good looking and a talented quidditch player, but his mind was too malleable and his personality too bland.

I walked back up to the castle with Noel, but we didn't speak. She was too concentrated on her ex-best mate and her bouncing blonde ponytail. We separated as I headed to the library and her to the common room without another word. Even though I was sitting at the very back, out of most students' eyesight, there was a constant buzz in the room. Madame Pince looked like she very much wanted to punish whomever was responsible for it, but she couldn't quite discern who was behind it, as everyone was whispering to one another.

I avoided going to the Great Hall for dinner all together, choosing instead to eat in the kitchens. I took my sweet time, ordering appetizers, entrees, desserts, and tea, but at 6:57, I couldn't delay any longer. I was supposed to meet Martin in the Entrance Hall, and despite my misgivings about him, I'd never skived off of my prefect duties before.

Of course he was already there waiting for me. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off, unwilling to hear anymore Ministry-biased bollocks. "Let's just get this over with."

There was no talk between us as we walked along the second floor, checking all of the classrooms and broom closets periodically. Every time he attempted to speak, I would increase my pace and put as much distance between us as possible.

"Prudence, will you please look at me!" he finally burst out, tossing his arms up into the air.

With a sigh, I turned around. "If you're looking for an apology, you're not going to get one."

"What is your problem?" Martin asked in amazement.

My temper, which had already come to a boiling point once today, was rising again. "How would you know if this wasn't normal for me? It took you six years to even have a civil conversation with me."

He chuckled and rubbed his jaw. "Look, I'm sorry for that, but if I can't claim to know you, then you can't claim to know me. The things you said at lunch today were extremely out of line."

"I'll give you an explanation if you give me one," I countered, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Fine. Go ahead."

The two of us were facing each other in the middle of the corridor. "Why did you all of a sudden start talking to me, and acting like my mate?"

Instead of getting angry like I expected, Martin let out a long sigh. "I suppose I should tell you."

"Tell me what?" I asked suspiciously, stepping closer to him.

"I was just trying to keep an eye on you. Cedric would have wanted me to."

My arms dropped to my sides. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Martin grabbed me by the elbow and dragged me to the side of the corridor as a gaggle of Ravenclaws passed. "I was hoping I'd never have to tell you this. Honestly, I wanted you to just forget about it. But that was wrong of me. You deserve the truth. Prudence, you liked Cedric, didn't you?"

"Yes, so did tons of people," I said defensively.

He shook his head. "No, I mean you fancied him. And…I think he fancied you too. He spoke of you a lot. Was constantly telling us all the hilarious things you'd said to him, and he always looked forward to your prefect rounds. I think that if Cho hadn't been so forward last year, then he would've asked you to the Yule Ball instead. He cared for you a lot, Prudence."

"Why are you just now telling me this?" My voice was thick with tears as I vainly attempted to keep my emotions under control.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just didn't want to see you upset," Martin pleaded, grabbing my hand.

I wrenched away from him. "That wasn't your decision to make!"

"I'm sorry! Prudence!" he called after me, but I couldn't turn around. I couldn't stay in that conversation. I felt like I'd just been punched in the gut, while having a bucket of ice poured over me as I was stabbed with a burning hot knife.

Everything that I'd felt for Cedric that I'd told myself for six years I was imagining, was true. How he would tell me whatever was on his minds during rounds, how he'd teasingly take my book away from me at breakfast, how he'd brush my hair out of my eyes and tell me not to cover up such a pretty face.

We could have been together. We could've had more time.

I found myself outside the portrait hole to the Gryffindor common room without any recollection of how I got there, but I couldn't bring myself to go in. I needed a minute, that was all, yeah. I headed back around the corner as I heard students coming from the other direction and slid down the wall, tucking my knees into my chest.

What would have happened if I wasn't such a coward? What if I'd just told him how I felt? I would've been his date to the Yule Ball, the one that he winked at in the stands during the Tri Wizard tournament, the one whose hand he held in the corridors and sat next to during classes. I should have just said it, instead of merely telling him good luck before he went into that maze. I'd lost my chance.

My breathing grew steadily more shallow as I became more and more agitated. It hadn't been in my head after all. This information should have made me feel better, but I actually felt worse. Much, much worse.

My body started shivering uncontrollably the harder I tried to catch my breath. I tried to muffle my sobs, but my hands were too slick with tears.

"Prudence, there you are! What are you doing on the floor?"

Slowly, I raised my head from my knees and peered up at George. I still couldn't breathe, and my eyes were full of panic. His expression morphed into one of worry.

"Let's not do that here, love, come on, up you go," he said soothingly as he pulled me to my feet. "That's right, just come over here, don't want people questioning your sanity and all that."

He tried for a joke but I couldn't laugh. I could hardly follow him without stumbling, my legs were trembling so much. He led the pair of us into a closet before shutting the door and turning on the light. "Prudence, what's wrong?"

His voice was urgent, and I didn't want to burden him. "Cedric. H-He liked me," I hiccupped. "M-Martin just said."

He muttered to himself as he rubbed a hand over his face. "What do you mean when you say he liked you? I need you to tell me, okay?"

I shook my head vigorously, trying to step away from him but only succeeding in knocking over a spare mop. I jumped at the noise.

"Prudence please," George pleaded. "You'll feel better after it's out in the open. And I can't help without knowing what's happening."

We stood there for a long time while I attempted to calm myself. He silently conjured me a chair and pushed me into it.

Finally, I took a shuddering breath. "Cedric. I think I loved him. And I should have told him, but I never did. Instead, I watched him go off with Cho and only managed a good luck before he went into that fucking maze. And Martin just said…"

Without looking up at him, I forced myself to go on. "Martin just told me that Cedric f-felt the same way as I did. But I didn't know, I didn't know!" I cried hysterically, my entire body shaking.

"Hey, look at me," George said as he knelt down. "I can't even pretend to understand everything you're feeling right now, but I'd imagine you feel sad, angry, frustrated, perhaps a bit nauseous?"

At my reluctant nod, he continued eagerly. "So maybe Cedric didn't know how you felt about him when he was still here, but what mattered was that he went into that maze knowing that you were his friend, and that you were with him until the very end. It was clear to the entire school how much he valued his relationship with you, and all that you can do now is remember him, all the good memories, and make sure he's not forgotten."

I gave a small hiccup and wiped at my eyes furiously with my robe sleeves. "I know it's pointless to cry about it, it's not like I can bring him back, it's just…what if? You know?"

"Do you believe in fate Prudence?" George asked quietly. It was unnerving to see him act so serious.

Hesitantly, I nodded my head yes. "I suppose I do, yeah."

"Then if you and Cedric are supposed to be together, you will be. Not here, not now, but one day."

He held out one arm and I allowed myself to be hugged. Guiltily I acknowledged how nice and warm he was, which made me feel worse, so I unwillingly pulled away. "Sorry," I whispered shyly, unsure of what to say.

"Nonsense! I comfort Fred all the time when he cries! And trust me, he's not nearly as pretty a crier as you," he confided jokingly.

This time I gave a watery laugh. "So, do you still need to talk to me about, er, whatever it was?"

He shook his head adamantly. "Not tonight, no. We'll reschedule. I'm going to take you back to your common room and you're going to get a good night's sleep. And I will go do all the homework that I've procrastinated on all day."

I accepted his proposal, and was extremely grateful that he didn't pressure me for any more details. He merely cracked a few more jokes and gave my shoulder a comforting pat whenever I got too silent. As I crawled into bed that night, ignoring both Grace and Noel, I vaguely wondered where he'd learned to be so empathetic.

The next morning, I awoke on my own with a minor headache. My cheeks felt uncomfortably dry. I must have cried in my sleep. Without waking the others, I made my way into the shower, imagining the steam washing away the horrors of last night. By the time I got out, I felt much better, George's words ringing clear in my mind.

Grace was just stirring as I was heading out of the dormitory, but I didn't bother saying good morning. As far as I was concerned, she could have the worst morning in all of Hogwarts history. The Great Hall was half full when I arrived, and I had a vague suspicion that everyone was making an extra effort to be on time, at least those who had Umbridge first. She'd been handing out a lot of detentions lately. I rubbed my thumb over the back of my hand subconsciously.

"Hey," I said quietly as I walked over to the Gryffindor table.

"Fine morning, isn't it?" Fred asked rhetorically, gesturing for me to sit.

George handed me a biscuit. "Fred and I were just going over the latest order forms."

Gratefully, I glanced over the parchment in front of them. Thank Merlin he wasn't mentioning last night. "Those look good. Any takers so far?"

"Not yet, but as soon as we're done working out all the kinks with the snack boxes, I'm sure we'll have dozens," Fred said confidently.

The three of us ate in silence for a few moments as Lee rushed into the hall, muttering about nifflers. We all chose to ignore him.

Finally, George turned to me. "Fancy a chat after classes?"

"Can I sit down?" came anxiously from behind us, cutting off my response.

My mouth dropped open slightly as Noel toyed with the strap of her bag. Thankfully, Lee had his wits about him.

"We've got room for pretty Hufflepuffs any time," he assured her with a wink, and it was quite unusual to see her blush rather than bite his head off. She was clearly out of her element.

Of course she wouldn't want to sit with Grace or Patrick, but I hadn't given much thought to what she would do on her own.

"So," Lee cleared his throat. "Want to come see my tarantula sometime?"

"THAT'S what's next to your bed?!" I shrieked. I saw Fred smirk out of the corner of my eye, and George snorted into his porridge.

Noel narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "How d'you know what he's got next to his bed?"

I floundered for a response until George cut in, sliding an arm around me. "Prudence here has been helping us with our Herbology work!"

"Prudence is shit at Herbology," Noel stated bluntly, flipping her hair behind her shoulder.

George shrugged. "She's better than us."

Thankfully she seemed to accept this, spooning yogurt into her mouth. Lee was watching her in fascination.

Throughout the day, Noel stuck by our sides. She, like me, found the twins' light hearted humor to be preferable to the constant shallow blithering that came out of the mouths of Grace and the like. She'd even laughed at something I'd said during lunch, although she quickly pretended like it didn't happen.

As soon as the bell rang after McGonagall's class, Fred and George dragged me out of the room by my elbows. Lee stayed behind to shamelessly flirt with Noel, who was being strangely nice about it.

"Can you two please slow down? You're going to yank my arms from their sockets," I muttered, and they instantly released me.

"Sorry about that love," George said with a wink.

I tried my hardest to ignore the stirrings that I felt in my stomach. I'd been having strange thoughts about him all day, and I was only growing more confused. The only other person that I had ever felt that type of connection with was Cedric, so did this mean that I fancied George now?

Perhaps I was just looking for someone to comfort me. Someone to tell me everything would be all right. It was a bit pathetic of me to say the least, and as I watched him stroll along the corridors, making all the passersby laugh as he began to charm Zacharias Smith's hair bright pink, I decided that he deserved better than that. I would be his friend, and that was all. Just friends.

"How long is this going to take?" I asked, hoping my long silence wasn't suspicious. "I've got homework to do."

Fred shrugged. "Not too long, hopefully, all depends on you, doesn't it?"

"Me?" I asked incredulously. "And would it kill the pair of you to at least _attempt _your school work?"

"It's not that we can't do it," Fred shot back.

George nudged me with his shoulder. "It's more of the fact that we have a little problem with motivation."

I blinked. "Motivation, right. Well then walk faster! I want to be in the library by five, come on."

By the time we'd reached the seventh floor, Lee had caught up to us, bursting out of a tapestry and scaring the wits out of me. The twins hadn't even flinched.

"Dilligrout," Fred said plainly, and the portrait opened for us. I followed them apprehensively up to their dormitory, uncertain of what they had to talk to me about. I hoped it didn't have anything to do with Cedric. Surely George would be smarter than that.

The door shut behind us and Lee scowled to where Kenneth was sitting at his desk.

"Oi, Towler, we need the room," Fred said.

The prefect rolled his eyes and continued to read through his Charms book. "And I need to do homework."

The twins exchanged a look, and suddenly Kenneth, along with his entire desk, were floating out the door and down the staircase. Lee slammed the door and locked it, blocking out his shouts of indignance.

We observed each other for a moment. "Er, perhaps it would be better if you were sitting down," Fred stated, and I was led over to his bed.

I folded my arms, crossed my legs, and glared at them. "Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on?

George stepped forward. "So you hate Umbridge, yeah?"

"And you agree that we aren't learning the things that we need to in class?" Fred cut in.

I barely had time to nod before Lee continued. "Well what would you say about learning defensive magic on our own?"

My brow furrowed. "Like…the four of us?"

"Yeah," George said slowly. "Us, and like twenty others."

"Twenty? Who? Who would we practice with, where would we practice, how would we not get caught?" I questioned them rapid fire, and they all held their hands out in defense.

Fred dared to step closest to me, despite my clear panic. "Just hear us out. We were approached by Hermione Granger a few days ago, who told us her idea."

"She wants to start a club where we practice defensive magic," Lee piped up.

I gaped at them. "A club? And who would be teaching us? Dumbledore?"

"Harry Potter," George said plainly.

Of course. The Boy Who Lived. The boy who had come back from the maze clutching Cedric's body, claiming he'd been murdered by You-Know-Who. "Is this supposed to be like the dueling club that Lockhart started in our fourth year?"

"Something like that," Fred agreed.

Something in their faces forced the question to my lips. "This isn't just about Umbridge, is it? You all believe that…that he's back."

The three of them nodded slowly, carefully, watching me as I processed the information. A bunch of students self-learning advanced defensive spells? No teacher? Our only instructor the last person to have seen Cedric alive? And all because they believed that the darkest wizard of all time, the one who had stolen my mother from me, was back and wreaking havoc?

George leaned against the bedpost. "You can still think about it if you want. We're having a meeting during the first Hogsmeade visit, next week. Even if you don't think you'll do it, at least come to the meeting, hear what Harry's got to say."

"Why did you ask me? How do you know I won't go blabbing about this to any professors?" I eyed them suspiciously.

Fred was the one to speak first. "Because we trust you. You're one of the few students left in this school that's not afraid to show your support for Dumbledore."

"And you want to get into healing school," George added. "There's bound to be tons of practical defense work for the exam."

All three of them looked extremely hopeful. I dug my nails into the palm of my hand in an attempt to remain calm. Fourteen years ago, my mother came back from a raid. Fourteen years ago, my mother went insane. Fourteen years ago, my mother looked me in the eyes and couldn't tell me my name. Fourteen years ago she was tortured into insanity.

I took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll do it. I'll come to the bloody meeting."

They all whooped and cheered, and when Fred dug around in his trunk and came up with bottles of Firewhiskey, I told them it was time for me to go to the library.

"I don't drink," I responded curtly, all but chucking the bottle away from my mouth. They yelled after me that I was being a party pooper, but I paid them no attention, instead trying to keep the images of Cedric and my mother from overtaking my vision. I reached the corridor and began the familiar path to the library, but stopped on the fourth floor and changed course to the dormitories. I had work to do.


	6. A Daughter's Love

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>As soon as I got back to my dormitory that afternoon, I abandoned all pretenses of homework and dropped to the ground so I could dig through my trunk. Ignoring Grace's stares, I scrounged until I came up with all of the newspaper articles I had been collecting since the end of last term.<p>

My rustling was so loud that Grace made a sound of disgust, getting up to leave. She slammed the door behind her. I shook my head at her cattiness and spread all the titles out on the floor. There were Muggle ones as well as wizarding ones, and I quickly separated them into two piles. In the stack of magical papers, there were pages from the Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly, even one from the Quibbler, although I tossed that one aside.

I got out a piece of parchment and enlarged it as I began cutting out the titles that caught my eye. I began with the activity that happened at last year's World Cup, then painfully turned to the articles about the Tri-Wizard Tournament, using a sticking charm to glue them down. After that, I posted all articles in chronological order that either tried to prove or disprove what truly happened in the maze, jotting down a quick question mark beneath them.

"What happened to you Cedric?" I whispered to myself.

Next, I dealt with the Muggle articles. There were too many strange deaths and disappearances for it to be chance… Now that I looked at them all together, I figured it must have been the work of Death Eaters. But were they doing it under You-Know-Who's orders, or were they working alone? I scrawled a hasty 'Death Eaters plus or minus YKW?'

Then, of course, there was the entire debacle with last year's Defense professor, Alastor Moody, being a Death Eater in disguise, as well as Barty Crouch Senior's death. With a sigh, I moved into pages that were dated July and later.

Breathing more heavily now, I poured over the Prophet's Potter-bashing words, trying to see if their evidence was actually plausible. I hadn't examined them thoroughly before; at the time I'd received them, I wasn't in the position to deal with anything magical. I had let all my mail pile up on my desk until shortly before school began, when I had to sort through it to find my exam results and list of supplies.

I noticed that the Prophet spent more time trying to make Harry look like a deranged delinquent who enjoyed the limelight far too much than giving any evidence to support their claim that You-Know-Who was still dead. The quotes in the articles that were supposed to present an unbiased view to the readers were all from Ministry workers, and so who was to say their words weren't being paid for by Fudge himself?

I trusted the Ministry and its workers about as far as I could throw them. All my life I'd been living with an invalid because of their incompetence, and unwillingness to cooperate with those who knew better, such as Albus Dumbledore. My heart clenched as a thought occurred to me. MMy childhood had been stolen from me by You Know Who…were my teen years headed in the same direction?

Redirecting my attention, in an effort to maintain control, I scanned over my timeline, running my finger over the faded ink. My eyes came to a rest on a photograph of all four Tri-Wizard champions. Tears sprung to my eyes at Cedric's prideful grin.

I was startled from my sleuthing by the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. The heels sounded suspiciously like Noel's. As quickly as I could, I swept the parchment back into my trunk, wiping my cheeks as I did so.

"Hey," I said breathlessly, casually leaning my bed. More tears were threatening to fall.

The strawberry blonde raised a brow. "Why are you on the floor?"

"Oh! I, erm, dropped my quill," I thought up wildly, nodding at her emphatically. I was a terrible liar. My father could always tell; it usually ended up horribly.

She walked into the room slowly and deposited her bag on her bed. "So shouldn't you be looking for it?"

I feigned shock and smacked my forehead. "Right! Yes, of course."

Noel wandered into the bathroom. "…gets weirder every day," she muttered.

Once the door was shut, I pulled myself to my feet, my head swimming. I'd been too preoccupied over the summer, with work and trying not to let any thoughts of Cedric invade my mind, to have bought into the Ministry's rubbish, but I hadn't exactly been holding a torch for Harry Potter either. Honestly, and I know it was childish of me, I hated him for being the last one to see him, to speak with him. I didn't envy him, I don't think anyone did, but he was the only person at Hogwarts that was there that night.

As Noel reentered the room, I cleared my head of the thoughts buzzing around as best I could and poured over my Potions book so I could begin my essay on the properties of Hornbeam and its uses in Blood Replenishing potions. Once I picked my quill up, I did not put it down for three hours, steadily writing until I had finished every single assignment due for the next two days.

"Fancy going to dinner?" Noel asked, trying to pass her awkwardness off as casualty. She wasn't used to being civil with me. I imagined she was refraining from rolling her eyes.

I shrugged, figuring she didn't want to have to walk over to the Gryffindor table alone. "Sure."

I had my own personal agenda for bringing Noel. The twins couldn't pester me about my decision without tipping her off about the meeting, and Lee would be much too distracted by her legs to pay me any attention.

Ten minutes later, my method was proven. I happily sipped my pumpkin juice and enjoyed my roast beef as the twins held a spirited discussion with Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas about who was going to win the League cup for quidditch this year, reveling in being left alone. Noel pretended not to notice Lee accidentally stick his elbow into the butter as he stared at her unabashedly.

The week passed much too quickly for my liking. I'd had two more prefect rounds with Martin, during which we remained absolutely silent. He seemed to be too scared to speak up, seeing as how every time he opened his mouth my hand jumped to my wand in warning. Noel was becoming more accustomed to her new "clique." I sometimes caught her smiling at Lee's outlandish compliments, and she had even helped Fred once when he struggled to perfect changing his facial features in Transfiguration.

Umbridge had not assigned any of us a detention, although she was certainly close at one point, when Fred had sent a Tripping Jinx at her in the middle of class on Wednesday. Isabella Mortenstein had asked whether or not a stunning spell would have the same effect on a werewolf as it did a wizard, which spanned into a thirty minute discourse on why half-breeds were filthy, worthless creatures. Umbridge could not locate who had cast the spell; no one seemed very willing to give Fred up. Despite his allegiance with Dumbledore, he was too well liked by our classmates.

I'd had more inappropriate thoughts about George, and had even caught myself comparing him to Cedric one night as he was bent over one of his latest inventions, a Self-Writing quill, displaying some seriously advanced bits of magic that had impressed me to no end. Cedric had been like that, he would always give all of his attention to the task at hand, and he never started anything without finishing it. I found that I was becoming used to the feeling of guilt. It was a constant presence that had attached itself to the pit of my stomach, squeezing tightly whenever my eyes lingered on George for too long.

By now, the twins had finalized their Skiving Snack boxes, due in large part to my participation. I'd been testing Fever Fudge, Canary Creams, and my least favorite, the Puking Pastille, all to spectacular effect. Fred and George already had thirty orders, and that was only from those of their own house. They were planning on doing more marketing during the Hogsmeade trip.

"Are you going into Hogsmeade Noel?" I asked her kindly as she sat at her desk braiding her hair into an intricate updo .

She briefly spared me a glance. "Yes, I've got a date with Charles Goldstein."

Grace harrumphed from the bathroom, but we both ignored her. "Wow, the Head Boy. I hope it goes all right." My voice was slightly strained at the small talk.

"Oh I'm sure we won't be doing a whole lot of talking," she said with a roll of her eyes. "All Hogwarts boys are the same: they want snogging, sex, and for us to keep our mouths firmly shut while they talk about quidditch."

Thinking of the various boys she had been with throughout the years in my head, I was mainly inclined to agree. "Not _all _boys though," I murmured defensively, my thoughts straying to both Cedric and George. The guilt-ridden pit in my stomach contracted painfully.

I was distracted by Grace's cackling, and I pointedly used my wand to slam the door to the loo shut. Noel smirked approvingly.

"What are you going to do?" she asked out of politeness, not sounding the least bit interested.

My hands twisted in my lap nervously. "Oh just, erm, going to the Three Broomsticks with Lee and the twins."

She nodded vaguely and began applying mascara. I glanced at the clock and realized that I needed to go. I'd promised the twins I'd meet them in the Entrance Hall at 10:45. I had to admit I was excited. I'd never gone to Hogsmeade with anyone before. I usually just spent my time in the book shop, avoiding catching anyone's eye, or else I remained in the castle to do schoolwork.

Without another word to either of my roommates, I set off down the long tunnel that opened into our common room. It was empty save for a few depressed-looking first and second years. I felt a pang of sadness for them. I remembered what it was like, watching jealously as all the older students left, returning with their bags stuffed full of sugar quills, Fanged Frisbees, and brand new books and clothing.

"There's our girl!" George cried enthusiastically as he saw me weaving my way through the crowd.

I stopped just short of them, trying not to notice how George was wearing a green jumper that was similar to one of Cedric's. "Shall we go then?"

"We shall," Fred said gallantly, holding out his arm. I took it with a roll of my eyes, channeling Noel's spirit, and the four of us headed out the doors. As Filch examined our permission slips, my breath caught slightly as it always did. I'd been forging all of my parent signatures since first year, and though I knew the caretaker couldn't tell, I still always felt a bit sick.

Thankfully, he was distracted by a group of second years trying to sneak past, and I was dragged down the path. We all squeezed into a carriage, slamming the door behind us as a particularly strong gust of wind blew past, nearly blowing off Lee's hat.

"So, Noel's staying in the castle, is she?" Lee asked entirely too casually.

I bit my lip. "No, she actually, well, she has a date," I said apologetically.

"With who?" Fred asked in interest, and George elbowed him.

"Charles Goldstein." I spoke the name quickly, as though that would lessen the blow. Lee seemed to be extremely taken with my hostile beauty queen of a roommate.

He nodded nonchalantly, but I saw his fingers tighten into fists. Thankfully, the carriage rolled to a stop, signaling our arrival and the end of the conversation. George hopped out immediately, followed quickly by Fred and Lee. With a charming grin, George held out his hand to me.

Nervously, I slid my hand into his, although I did not have the chance to descend gracefully like the others, suddenly finding myself on the ground.

"You are such a wanker," I spoke through gritted teeth while he and Lee howled with laughter. I ignored Fred's hand that had been offered, not unlike his brother's, and returned to a standing position on my own.

George slung an arm around me. "Terribly sorry Prudence, couldn't resist."

"Sod off," I said as I squirmed out from underneath him. "Where to first?"

They all shrugged. "Zonko's?" Lee suggested.

I didn't much like the look that Fred and George exchanged.

Turns out the twins and Lee were on a first name basis with the owner of the joke shop. They got discounts on nearly everything, and were even allowed into the back room, which was where they headed for immediately after entering. After they had been in there for nearly half an hour, I decided to look for a place to sit. Admittedly I wasn't too interested in dung bombs or Fizzing Whizbees, and the thrill of shopping in a new place had long since worn off.

A clown head popped off the wall at me was I walked past, and with a scream I backed into a shelf filled with confetti canons, accidentally setting one off. Four bodies sprinted out into the main room, and they all came to an abrupt stop as confetti rained down on them like a parade. Though the twins and Lee were laughing, the owner was certainly not as he shoved us all unceremoniously out the door.

The three of them poked fun at me for a good five minutes before the chill from the air forced us all down the street.

"So, where is this meeting?" I asked anxiously as the wind whipped through my hair.

"The Hog's Head," Fred responded promptly, swinging his bag full of future detentions.

My throat tightened. "Right. Makes sense."

Lee nudged me. "You've never been in there? It's wicked! The barkeep will serve you firewhiskey if you pay him enough."

"Because who doesn't want to illegally drink at eleven in the morning?" I muttered sarcastically.

George slung an arm around me; this seemed to be becoming a habit. "Don't knock it until you try it, eh?"

I shrugged out from under him as quickly as possible under the pretense of having to re-lace my boot. I was then urged to walk faster, as it was very nearly noon, and with a sigh I followed them into the dusty looking bar, looking regrettably at the Three Broomsticks as I did so.

I was surprised at the amount of students who were in the room. Seated around a large table were all the Gryffindors in Harry's year minus Seamus Finnegan; the Gryffindor quidditch team; most of the 5th year Hufflepuffs; a handful of Ravenclaws –

My breath caught in my throat as I gripped George's wrist painfully. "You didn't tell me she'd be here," I whispered, staring at Cho Chang and feeling quite sick. Did she believe what Harry said about Cedric?

Fred was gathering money for butterbeers. Lee was joking with Alicia Spinnet. Luna Lovegood was wandering around with a dazed expression. George was looking at me concernedly. "I didn't know Prudence, honestly."

I glanced towards the entrance as Anthony Goldstein walked in. I took a step backwards.

"Please, stay," George said, noticing my retreat. I eyed the room warily, my mind racing. If Cho was here, surely it was all right if I was? Cedric wouldn't be disappointed in me, right? The least I could do was hear Harry out. And he did know his defensive spells…

With a quick nod, I took my seat beside him at the back of the group, all of whom were looking at Harry expectantly. Unfortunately for them, Hermione was the first to speak. I didn't take in much of what she said. My palms were sweating as I watched Cho, her face rapt with attention. The fact that she seemed to be faring better than me forced me to tune in as Harry stood up.

Someone asked if he'd really seen You-Know-Who in the graveyard. I could hear my pulse in my ears. I wondered if everyone else could hear my breathing, it was so loud. Bile rose in my throat.

"Look, if you're only here to ask about what happened that night, you can just clear off!" Harry said roughly. No one moved.

George glanced down at me, but I refused to look up at him. Suddenly, Zacharias Smith interrupted, claiming that Harry was trying to talk his way out of showing us his defense skills. Harry flushed.

"That's not what he said," Cho spoke quietly. So she did believe him. That Cedric had been murdered by You Know Who.

George withdrew a lethal looking metal object from his Zonko's bag. "Would you like us to clean your ears out for you?"

"Or anything really, we're not fussy where we stick it," Fred added.

Then Ginny did such a good impression of Umbridge that it startled us back to the point. A name was created. Dumbledore's Army. Hermione procured a sheet of parchment. Fred and George signed first.

Cho got up to write her name, a look of fierceness spread across her face, and I knew I had to get out of there. Without so much as a backward glance, I brushed past Parvati Patil and burst out onto the sidewalk. Cedric's voice rang in my ears as I stumbled my way into a secondhand book shop.

The shopkeeper looked relatively alarmed as I ran in, slamming the door behind me. I shot her a quick apology and then maneuvered through the cramped aisles to the very back corner. I leaned against the shelves and tried to catch my breath, which had escaped me.

What was I thinking? I couldn't be a part of some resistance movement against the Ministry, I was a prefect! I could get suspended, expelled even! I would never get into healing school, I could never go home, I'd have to live on the streets and –

"Prudence?"

I turned around, expecting to see George, but instead found myself looking into the face of Noel, her ruby red lips pursed in confusion. "Oh, hey, where's Charles?"

She rolled her eyes. "Jennifer needed him for some 'emergency Head duties…' More like _head _duties if you know what I mean." I smiled in spite of myself. "Anyway, I saw you rush in here, you looked awful."

"Gee, thanks," I mumbled, wiping the perspiration off of my upper lip.

Noel trailed her golden fingernail along the book spines, leaving a trail of dust. "So what were you doing that got you all worked up?"

I ignored her suspicious look. "Nothing, the twins were just drawing a lot of attention to themselves, and as everyone was staring, I decided to head off on my own. Don't much like strangers watching me."

"Was Lee with them?" she inquired.

"Erm, yes," I spoke slowly. Perhaps Lee's pick-up lines were paying off.

She rolled back her shoulders, adjusted her cleavage, tossed back her hair, and then strutted towards the door. "Right then. I'm going back up to the castle, are you coming?"

With one last glance towards the Hog's Head, I wrapped my jacket more tightly around myself and followed her up the street.

I successfully avoided George for the rest of the weekend, eating my meals in the kitchens and stealing away to the library in the early hours of the morning. I knew, however, that I couldn't avoid him any longer, as I would be seeing him in Umbridge's class. With a sigh, I reluctantly followed a questionably nice-looking Noel to the Gryffindor Table.

"Morning," Noel said perkily, settling so closely next to Lee that he dropped his spoon onto the floor in shock.

Fred raised a brow. "Good morning to you too Sunshine."

George gently placed down a piece of parchment in front of me.

"Educational Decree number 24?" I murmured, scanning it. "All organizations, societies, teams, groups, and clubs are hereby disbanded-"

My eyes shot up to where Umbridge was seated at the staff table, pouring sugar into her tea and looking smugly out into the sea of students.

Noel became outraged. "What? What does that mean for quidditch then? Hufflepuff's got a shot at not coming in last this year!"

"I don't think you need to worry about your house," George said, an ugly look on his face. "She's re-signed all the teams except for Gryffindor."

I glanced down to where Angelina Johnson was speaking to Harry, looking furious. "Do you think she suspects…anything?"

"Like what?" Noel snorted. "She's probably just trying to get more control of the school, undermine Dumbledore."

But there was something about Umbridge's smile that didn't feel right to me. She knew about the meeting yesterday, which told me that I'd made a good decision in not signing that parchment.

My techniques at avoiding Fred and George's questions were growing more impressive by the minute. They'd nearly cornered me after Transfiguration, but I magicked their shoes into cinder blocks and sprinted to the library. I didn't much like confrontation, and I knew that if they got me alone they would wonder why I'd run out of the meeting, and why I was acting like I was having a constant anxiety attack.

And if I told them why I was avoiding them, I would probably start crying because I was thinking about Cedric in that maze. No one besides Harry Potter and perhaps You-Know-Who knew the details of what had happened. For all I knew he had simply turned a corner and then there was a flash of green light… Or maybe it had been long and painful, torture at the hand of Krum, or someone else who had been prowling the maze, waiting for a competitor to wander into their midst.

I swiped at a tear in frustration and tried to focus on my work. Was this real, or not real? Yes Cedric was gone but I was going crazy trying to figure out how. I just needed more time, which the twins didn't seem inclined to give me. I didn't want to lose the few friends that I had somehow acquired this year, but I couldn't just disobey the new Educational Decree. The both of them had been breaking rules since first year, all their lives probably! They'd most likely done so many illegal things that there was no _question_ they would join Dumbledore's Army.

Me, I'd always been too fearful of authority figures to so much as keep a library book late. I blamed my father for this. The only times I'd ever broken any rule was this year, with Fred and George. Maybe they were a bad influence. Perhaps I had picked the wrong friends.

But my mother had been a Gryffindor, like them. Would she have been their friend? Would she have joined? But she had fought the Death Eaters and lost. She knew she was putting her life in danger when she joined the ranks of the aurors, and she was proud to be protecting the wizarding world. Could I follow in her footsteps?

I didn't know. And seeing as my mum was the way she was, maybe I would never know. Just like I might never know what happened to Cedric that night.

A week and a half later, the twins had finally stopped asking me questions. The D.A. was supposed to have their first practice tomorrow night. I supposed they'd realized I wasn't joining. I could tell George was disappointed. He hadn't put his arm around me since Hogsmeade, or even really spoken to me other than the occasional comment about Umbridge's fat head. It did bother me, but what was I supposed to do? Risk my expulsion and entire future, when I wasn't even really sure what we were fighting for? Why was everyone so eager to claim he had returned? The thought made my stomach churn and my skin grow cold.

Reluctantly, I headed out of the library to meet Martin for rounds. Tonight we were patrolling the sixth and seventh floors, near Gryffindor Tower, and I had never wanted to perform my prefect duties less. Without a word, the pair of us set off up the staircase. He had long since given up on getting my forgiveness, instead resigning himself to an hour of silence.

Grace was still trying to gain Martin's affections, and I was more than certain that this was one of the main attributing factors to Noel's sudden interest in Lee Jordan. Today she'd nearly given him a coronary bending down to pick up a quill she had dropped. I sighed as the hour ticked slowly past.

Nothing of interest had happened so far. No couples in broom closets, no students wandering the corridors after hours, not even Peeves setting traps for unsuspecting teachers. Finally, at 10:15, we set off in separate directions to check the various loos along the sixth floor to signify the end of our duties. As Martin disappeared around the corner, a figure burst out from behind a tapestry.

Stifling a shriek, I backed into the wall, a hand over my heart. "George! What the hell are you doing? You just scared me half to death!"

"Only half? Perhaps I should do it again?" he inquired innocently, and I abruptly turned on my heel and continued on my path.

"Wait!" he called after me, and against my will my feet stopped.

I faced him, my arms crossed. "What do you want? In case you haven't noticed, it's after hours and Martin will be back any moment."

His countenance of innocence morphed into one of curiosity. "I would like to know whether or not you're coming to the practice tomorrow."

I shifted my weight nervously, avoiding his eyes. "No."

"Why not?" he cried, and I shushed him hurriedly.

My eyes narrowed. "You know what Weasley? You need to look at it from my perspective. Not everyone knows Harry Potter personally. Of course Dumbledore trusts him, and that should be good enough for me, but do you realize what it looked like to see a virtual stranger fall out of that maze clutching Cedric's – clutching him?"

His expression changed slightly, becoming more cautious. He tried to speak but I cut him off.

"Do you know how it felt to be sitting in the stands, surrounded by a sea of people and holding onto my Diggory pin, only to hear someone scream, and look at him on the ground, not moving? Only to stare down at his dead body? I couldn't do anything, George! I just sat there while everyone yelled and cried all around me."

George took a step towards me but I continued stepping backwards. "Prudence," he started, but once again my words beat his.

"All I knew that night was that I was never going to speak to him again, and I didn't know why," I said, my voice catching. "And I just don't know if _this," _I thrust my scarred fist into his face," is worth risking my entire education over George. If I get expelled from school, do you know what I would be going back to? A life tarnished by dark magic!" I hissed, my chest heaving.

Realizing I'd said too much, I brushed past his shocked face as quickly as possible, intent on finding Martin so we could officially end our rounds. Even his company would be better than George's at the moment.

When I got back to the dormitory that night, it was empty. Grace had been holding court in the common room, preening under the attention of the pre-pubescent boys, but Noel was absent. I frowned; she was typically here going through her nightly beauty routine. With a shrug, I embraced the solitude and stepped out of my clothes, padding into the bathroom to shower. For some reason, I kept picturing George's face, but it always morphed into Cedric smiling down at me as we walked the corridors together. After a certain point I couldn't tell what was tears and what was just bath water.

When my fingers turned pruny and my skin scalded red, I finally emerged and wrapped a towel around myself. I opened my trunk with the intent on finding my warmest set of pajamas so I could collapse into bed and forget this day ever happened, only to see a yellowed, wrinkled newspaper clipping atop my belongings. Frowning, I settled onto my bed and began to read.

It was dated from last August, on the twenty-third. A Muggle named Frank Bryson was discovered dead in a house in a place called Little Hangleton. Coroners reported his death as simply old age, but from the description, it sounded awfully familiar to all the killings that had taken place throughout the past few months.

Quickly, I dragged out my parchment with the other clippings glued on it and pasted it just above the articles about the Tri-Wizard Tournament, pointedly not looking at the photo of Cedric's face. It fit perfectly in the pattern. This couldn't be a coincidence. So did this mean…that this was the Death Eaters? _Before _school had started last year? They had been active this entire time. Cedric hadn't been the first.

Breathing very heavily, I threw the parchment back into my trunk and slammed it shut, digging out pajamas from the dirty clothing hamper. I didn't want to look at the articles anymore.

I dressed quickly and got into bed, but I stared up at the canopy for hours. This was the work of Death Eaters; the unexplainable killings that took place in rooms locked from the inside out, no traces of any violence on their bodies, no drugs in their systems. I'd bet all my money on the Killing Curse, and no one used that spell except for the followers of You Know Who.

My fingers found the necklace before my mind could process it. Next to a faded silver locket laid a beautiful charm in the shape of a book, Cedric's first and final gift to me. Without looking down, I released the catch and the locket sprung open, revealing the happy, smiling face of my mother.

"Is it happening again Mum? What do I do?" I whispered to myself, finding little comfort in the icy metal.

Forcing my eyes to close, I turned onto my side and counted up until 2,349, when I finally drifted off. I awoke very early the next morning drenched in sweat, gasping for air. All I'd seen last night were images of black robed, silver masked wizards. Dark Marks were in the sky, the green faces horribly grotesque as they grinned down at me.

The scenes changed every so often; Harry Potter bursting out of the maze holding onto Cedric's cold, lifeless body. Cedric wandering the maze alone, his face terrified, turning a corner and walking straight into a beam of green light, even though I was screaming for him to turn back, to come back to me.

I hadn't had nightmares like that since last term had ended. I'd barely slept the entire first month of summer break, and I'd only just stopped having the dreams a few weeks ago.

I dressed in the dark, walking into the bathroom to scrub the grime off my face and brush the bad taste out of my mouth. I used my wand to conceal the circles beneath my hazel eyes, and pinned my hair up into a professional looking bun, the way my mother had taught me when I was thirteen. It was one of the few times I could remember her being lucid, and the familiar action calmed me as I smoothed back the loose strands.

As I was packing my satchel for class, I stood up suddenly, an idea having struck. In order to confirm You-Know-Who's return, I needed to find out what happened during his first reign of terror, in the seventies and eighties. If what was happening now had happened last time, then I could know for sure. But would the library have information on it? It might be in the Restricted Section.

With a sudden vigor in my movements, I crammed my feet into my socks and shoes and sprinted out of the dormitory and through the common room.

"Where's the fire?" Patrick called from his seat on the chair nearest the fire. He was cramming for today's Charms exam, but my mind was focused on anything but. Slowing down in the halls only slightly to avoid getting admonished, I reached the library just as Madame Pince was opening it.

Nervously, I appraised her scowling face. I didn't even know if this would work; she was known for being particularly unhelpful to students. "Madame Pince? I was, I was just wondering if you could help me find, erm, information on something?"

"What is it?" she snapped impatiently. There was a mothball stuck to her skirt.

"I wanted to know if the library had any books about You-Know-Who," I inquired carefully.

Immediately her expression turned to one of shock. "And why would you need this information?"

"It's just that I'm er, not doing so well in History of Magic," I made up wildly, hoping she couldn't see how nervous I was. "Professor Binns told me that I could do an extra credit project on the seventies and eighties, and I've got most of the regular books on that, but since You-Know-Who was such a big part of that time period, I figured I ought to include him in my report. To be thorough."

I bit my lip anxiously as she examined me. My lies almost never worked, but after all the hours I had spent with the Weasley twins, I hoped some of their quick wits had rubbed off on me. "Aisle 34, section nine," she said crisply, then trailed off towards the Potions section with her feather duster.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I walked as quickly across the cavernous room as I dared. Truth be told, the librarian terrified me to no end. Then again, so did a lot of things.

I reached the aisle and immediately started to cough, accidentally having sucked in mounds of filth. I forced myself to be quiet, eyes watering. Once my lungs got used to the copious amounts of dust that had overtaken the books in this section, I used my wand to siphon the grime off of the spines so I could read them.

I picked up one that bore the title, 'A Time of Terror' and flipped through it, jerking my head back as more dust came flying out at me. I came to a stop at page 176, a chapter labeled 'Notable Muggle Deaths.' There were reports of many Ministry workers, and it included an attempt made on the Prime Minister of the time that failed only because aurors had arrived on the scene. There were two famous movie stars, and even a singer mentioned, and all were given the same report by the Muggle authorities: inconclusive. They'd all been killed in rooms locked from the inside out, and bore no signs of a struggle.

I slammed the volume closed, my heart pounding.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Madame Pince shrieked as she poked her head around the corner. "Be careful with those books! They're very delicate!"

I hastily put it back where I had pulled it from. "I'm so sorry Madame Pince, I'll just, I'll just be going now."

I scurried past her unfriendly face and didn't stop moving until I came to the Entrance Hall, where I blended in with the crowd of students heading in for breakfast. I lowered myself onto the bench at the Gryffindor table across from Lee, staring off into space.

"Earth to Prudence, come in Prudence!" Fred called, waving a hand in front of my face.

George peered at me closely. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I whipped around to face him so suddenly that he jerked back and caused Neville Longbottom to dribble porridge down his front.

"Sorry about that mate," he said gravely, using his wand to clean up the mess.

I grabbed his robes and forced him to look at me. "Where is the meeting?"

"Why?" he asked, looking alarmed as he tried to pry my fingers from him. "Are you going to tell Umbridge?"

Lee and Fred stared at me with their mouths open.

"No." I relinquished my grip on him and sat back. "I'm going to come."

I ignored their looks of astonishment as I began to pour myself a cup of tea, greeting Noel who had just walked in.

"Why is everyone staring at Prudence?" she asked as she sat down and stole Lee's toast out of his hand.

He snapped back to attention. "Oi!"

She flipped her hair behind her shoulders. "Calm down," she said in a bored tone, taking a bite and handing it back to him.

Lee looked like he'd just won the lottery.

"Prudence has gone barmy," Fred stated.

"She hasn't already?" Noel joked, helping herself to some eggs.

I was too busy trying to slow my racing thoughts to counter her remark, and instead found my gaze directed at Umbridge. You-Know-Who was back, he had murdered Cedric, and here she was trying to pretend that all was well. I was going to this meeting, I was going to learn my defensive spells, I was going to graduate from Hogwarts with an Outstanding Defense Against the Dark Arts NEWT, and most importantly, I was going to make my mother proud.

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><p><strong>AN: So...this was chapter 6! Please let me know what you think with a review. Is this story plausible? Is Prudence relateable? Is Noel a bitch or a genius? And does anyone else hate Grace or is that just me?**


	7. He's Back

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

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><p>I pointedly placed myself in between Noel and Fred as I settled into my seat in Flitwick's classroom. George looked at me for a moment before redirecting his attention to jinxing Kenneth Towler's bag to bite at his ankles.<p>

"Brrr…" Noel said, raising a brow to me. "What's up with you, Ice Princess?"

I shrugged and didn't bother responding, instead opting to watch the other students trickle in. Grace of course came in on the arm of Martin, with Patrick and Terrence dragging behind, half asleep. Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson wandered over and took a seat in front of our desk.

"Oi, Weasley," Angelina whispered.

"Yeeeees?" both Fred and George responded at the same time.

She rolled her eyes. "I've got Umbridge to re-sign the team!"

There was a smattering of cheering, which was quickly hushed by her death glare. "If either of you step one toe out of line today, I will personally take those beaters bats and place them somewhere unpleasant."

George grimaced. "But we haven't even got Umbridge today."

Angelina merely stared at the doorway, where our pink, polished professor strutted in behind Flitwick.

"She's inspecting?" I hissed to Noel, who glared and stabbed at the desk with her quill.

Angelina shot the twins one last look of warning and turned to face the front. Our esteemed High Inquisitor settled herself in the last row as the lecture began, and every few seconds her pink, fluffy quill could be heard scratching away. I refrained from drawing like I typically did, instead forcing myself to pretend this was all extremely fascinating for the sake of Flitwick, although it was hard to ignore her occasional giggles and 'hem hems.' Flitwick being Flitwick treated her like she was a guest; I half expected him to offer her refreshments.

"Okay class, now is the time to put that theory to good use! Remember, the incantation is 'Deletrius' and your target is the wooden logs that will be placed in front of you shortly. Good luck!"

A stack of wood deposited itself between the aisles, one log floating to rest neatly between Noel and I. Umbridge had now wandered over to Grace, Martin, Terrence, and Patrick, who were seated up front, and was nodding vigorously as Patrick spoke.

"…really good professor, I'm just not always certain that I quite grasp everything by the time class is over," he was saying.

A flicker of a smirk crossed her face. "Yes, go on Mr. Abney."

"Speaking as a future Department of Magical Sports and Games hopeful, I would have to say that I'm not fully confident that Flitwick will get me there. Not enough guidance, you know."

Noel sneered. "That filthy little prick! Can't believe I ever dated him…oh I could just kill him."

"Whoa, hey, don't do that," Lee spoke hastily as he forced her wand out of her grasp, as it had been pointed straight at Patrick's head.

Umbridge gave a little hum of contentment and looked around the room for her next victim, her brown eyes falling on me unnervingly. "Miss Turner! Perhaps I could ask you a few questions?"

"Of course, Professor." My smile was tight. I could feel the scars on the back of my left hand tingling.

I ignored Fred, who was in the process of stamping my foot off as she began to speak. "Now, would you say that you have progressed enough under Professor Flitwick's supervision?"

I stared at her distastefully. "If you would consider getting an Outstanding on every Charms exam I've ever had, including my OWL, progress, then yes."

George snorted and turned it into a cough. Fred's foot pressed down even harder.

"If you could just show me some examples of the useful things that Professor Flitwick has taught you so far this term?" Umbridge turned her round, pasty face to the log in front of me.

I withdrew my wand from the pocket of my robes. First, the log burst into a spectacular purple flame. Then, it shot up into the air, went twice around the room, and hovered above my head for a moment. Next, it tap danced over to Umbridge and performed an Irish jig. I then returned it to its original position, looked her straight in the eye, and blew it to pieces, which bounced harmlessly off of my shield charm.

I returned my wand to my pocket and folded my hands neatly onto the debris that had scattered across the desk.

"Phwoar," Lee muttered from Noel's other side as Umbridge took out her quill.

"Student…displays…aggression…with…charms." She tucked her clipboard under her arm. "Thank you Miss Turner."

Blinking, my jaw dropped, I watched as she thanked Flitwick, turned on her heel, and clacked happily from the room.

"Ten points to Hufflepuff, I think!" Flitwick squeaked anxiously from his place at the front of the room, and I managed a tiny smile before taking out a bit of parchment and drawing Umbridge being chopped into tiny bits by all the Hogwarts professors. I even used color ink for the blood.

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><p>Four hours later I was working furiously in the library. Ignoring my Defense Against the Dark Arts reading assignment, I had checked out several books from aisle 34 and was now pouring over the texts, frantically writing down anything I deemed important.<p>

"Why are you researching Voldemort?" Noel asked loudly, and everyone in the room gasped collectively.

My cheeks burned as I tucked the book away from view. "Noel! If you're going to use his name, at least speak it quietly, this is the library!" I hissed. "And…I was just…curious, is all. No one ever talks about it."

"I think the Weasley twins got to you," she said bluntly, casually scrawling down a sentence for her Arithmancy essay.

Baffled, I set my quill down. "What do you mean, 'got' to me?"

Noel tossed back her mane of hair. I swear it glinted in the sunlight. I even caught a waft of strawberry. "Well, last term you would never speak, I mean, not even a word. Your nose was always stuck in a book, and everyone thought that you thought you were too good to talk to us. The only person you made any sort of contact with was Cedric. You never asserted any authority, never spoke back to any professors, never drew any attention to yourself."

"And?" I raised a brow, my ears burning.

"Now, you've attached yourself to the two loudest, most attention seeking students in the castle, you've gotten detention, you hardly ever read for pleasure , this weird Voldemort research being the exception, you have now docked a total of fifty points collectively from students, and have at least seven rumors circulating about you," Noel rattled off, completely unfazed by all the looks she was getting.

I looked around for Madame Pince before answering. "I only started speaking with Fred and George because I was helping them with Herbology, I only ever read that much because I didn't have any friends, and I'm trying to keep the school in top condition so Umbridge has nothing to scribble on her little clipboard."

She eyed me, her expression even. I expected her to make a comment about my lack of friends, or acknowledge her treatment of me in years past. "Herbology. Right."

"Erm…right?" Now I was just confused.

Noel paused a moment as the librarian poked her head out from behind the shelf of books she was dusting. She leaned in closer. "I know that's not what you're doing up there. The Weasley twins have never given a damn about their grades, why would they start now? And you not only hate Herbology, you're ruddy terrible at it. Like, uncommonly bad, considering your house placement.

My palms began to sweat. "Think what you want, but haven't you noticed a difference in them this year? They're less concerned with pranking and are much more focused on the important things. And I do not hate Herbology! I just hate dirt. And things that bite."

With that, I swept the books into my satchel, swung it onto my shoulder, and walked out of the library. It was nearly time for the DA meeting, and I had promised Fred, George, and Lee that I would meet them by their common room, as I had no idea where I was supposed to go.

As I was rounding the corner on the fourth floor, I walked straight into Jennifer Mickelson, the Head Girl.

"Prudence Turner! Just the girl I was looking for!" she spoke in her perky, nasally voice.

I blinked. Her large, green eyes were staring at me with a slight ferocity. "Erm, hi."

She grabbed my elbow and pulled me along in the opposite direction of where I was heading. "Look, Martin can't patrol with you on Saturday, he's got a homework conflict, so you'll have to patrol with Kenneth Towler instead. Okay? Great!"

And then she was gone, walking down the corridor with an uncommonly quick pace. Right, a homework conflict. More like a 'I have to get wasted like a pathetic woman having a mid-life crisis conflict.' With a sigh, I turned around and continued on my path to the seventh floor. The twins would absolutely tear the mickey out of me for this.

"Someone looks down in the dumps," Fred observed when I reached them, huffing slightly from the climb.

"Guess who's got to patrol with Kenneth on Saturday night?" I rolled my eyes as all three of them burst into laughter, Lee pounding the wall with his fists. "Anyway, where are we going?"

George shrugged and began to head down the corridor. "Apparently it's a place called the Room of Requirement. It's down the hall, across from the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy."

My brow wrinkled. "The Room of Requirement? I've never heard of it. It's not in Hogwarts, a History."

The twins exchanged a gleeful look. "Look at this one!" Fred laughed, elbowing me.

"I've never heard of it, it's not in Hogwarts, a History," George mocked in a high-pitched tone, doing a bit of twirling.

Lee turned to me. "Are you a Muggle-born?"

"No…why?" Even the twins were giving him strange looks, having stopped their imitation of me.

He shrugged. "Just wondering. Hermione Granger's read that book probably a dozen times, she's always reciting anecdotes to Harry and Ron, reckon it's more of a read for those who don't grow up in the magical world."

"Oh." I was relieved he hadn't gone any further into the whole Muggle-born thing. Lee wasn't known for having tact when he spoke. "Well, perhaps you're right. I didn't grow up in the magical world so I suppose I was rather curious."

Fred slowed his pace so he could walk beside me. "But you just said you're not a Muggle-born!"

"I'm not," I replied, staring straight ahead.

"So…are you half?" George inquired. I nodded. "Your mum or your dad?"

"What's with the twenty questions?" I asked brusquely, and both twins chuckled as they raised their hands in defense.

George nudged me. "Sorry Miss Touchy, I sincerely apologize for trying to learn more about you."

"Well you don't see me sticking my nose in your business asking you all about your life," I responded evenly.

"To be fair, I think everyone gets the gist. There are a load of us, we all have red hair, we're blood traitors, and Forge and I are the only fun ones! Well, actually, Charlie can be a bit of a laugh when he's not covered in dragon dung." Fred stroked his chin in thought as George nodded in agreement.

We came to a stop as we reached a part of the castle that looked vaguely familiar. The hallway was lengthy, had a cavernous ceiling, and was barren of any statues or portraits minus one of a wizard trying to teach several trolls to dance ballet. "What now?"

"Now, my dear Prudence," Fred began gallantly, "you wait for the magic to happen."

I stepped back and watched as he began to pace back and forth, his eyes screwed up tightly. After he had walked the stretch of hallway three times, a large, mahogany door began to appear, right out of the wall.

Lee whistled. I blinked.

"After you," George said, holding it open for us. Almost timidly, I entered behind Fred and Lee, not knowing what to expect.

From behind their shoulders, I saw a gargantuan room covered in cushions, with shelves upon shelves of books and defensive items. Students were milling about, joking and laughing with one another. The twins and Lee were now deep in conversation about the upcoming Gryffindor-Slytherin match. Cho Chang and her friend Marietta were standing off to the side, shooting furtive looks at everyone else.

"Oi, what's she doing here?" Ron asked in a loud whisper, pointing at me.

Hermione shot me an apologetic look. "Ronald!"

He looked unashamed. "Well Fred and George said she wasn't coming. Cedric and all that."

"Ron! Please try and have tact, she was friends with him!" Hermione admonished again, but I tuned out the rest of their argument as quickly as possible, instead wandering over to the books for a closer examination. I opened up the thickest volume on the shelf, looking down at a very detailed description of how to cast a Corporeal Patronus.

I'd always wondered what mine would be. It was something Cedric and I had discussed in depth. We'd planned on learning how to do it together, after our prefect rounds, but then the Tri-Wizard Tournament had come to Hogwarts and we had completely lost focus. He reckoned his would be a badger, like Helga Hufflepuff. I said he'd be a tiger or bear or something fierce and loyal, like him. He told me mine would be a swan, or a dove, something innocent but smart. He always made me feel so good about myself. I never felt stupid or anything around him. He was just...kind.

"All right everyone, we're going to get started," Harry called out, clapping his hands together. Shutting the book, I turned to face him. George shot me a wink and I glared back. Was it necessary for him to tell everyone why I wasn't planning on coming to this meeting? I'd confided in him, and he'd gone and sounded the bloody alarm. The people in this room already thought I was crazy and strange, what must they think of me now?

Harry looked incredibly uncomfortable as everyone watched him eagerly. "Er, today we're going to be practicing how to disarm your opponent. So everybody pair up, and I'll go over the incantation with you."

I watched as the students began to seek each other out, all of them joining up with someone from their own house. The whole point of this was to stand together against the Ministry, but no one could even look past their robe colors.

Shyly, I walked over to a girl with long, blonde hair who was looking over the procession with a vague, dreamy expression on her face. "Luna?"

"Oh, hello Prudence!" she said happily. "There's a wrackspurt flying about near your head, you know. Might want to be careful."

My brows raised slightly before I masked my confusion. "Right, I'll do that. I was just wondering if you'd want to be partners?"

"Ooh yes, I'd quite like that. Nobody else seems to want me as theirs," she said matter-of-factly.

I shifted my weight between my feet. "I'm sure they just didn't notice you. You're standing all the way in the corner," I pointed out.

"All the better to see the wrackspurts." Her face was solemn, so I held in my laughter. However weird she may seem, she was very nice, and I wanted to be respectful. After all, she knew my name.

The two of us listened to Harry explain the incantation, which seemed simple enough. It was a relatively easy spell that most of the sixth and seventh years had already learned, but the tricky part was controlling where your opponent's wand would go. It would be useless if you couldn't catch it or move it out of their grasp.

"Would you like to go first?" I asked Luna, who nodded, the radishes hanging from her earlobes swaying slightly.

I walked backwards a few paces, holding my wand out in front of me.

Luna planted her right foot, her own wand aimed directly at me. "Expelliarmus!" she cried. Justin Finch-Fletchly cried out as his wand arced overhead, clattering to the floor. "Oh wow…"

"I think that was a little too much flourish," I said, holding in a giggle.

"I think you're right," she said sagely, nodding her head. "Would you like to have a go?"

I shrugged. "Sure." Concentrating hard on the U-shaped motion, I picture Luna's wand flying into my outstretched palm. "Expelliarmus!"

Like I knew it would, it soared out of her grasp, but I had to jog forward to catch it. It hadn't come far enough towards me.

"Nicely done, Prudence, isn't it?" Harry spoke as he headed towards us. I nodded. "Right, okay, so what you need to do is follow their wand with your own. If you don't keep your concentration, the spell will lose some of its power and you won't know where the wand is going to fall. Yeah?"

I nodded, gently tossing Luna's wand back to her. She held it out to let me know she was ready, and I took a deep breath. "Expelliarmus!"

The three of us watched hopefully as it stretched out in front of her, landing neatly in my waiting hand.

"Yes, well done Prudence!" Harry congratulated me. "Will you demonstrate for everyone?"

My mouth went a little dry as I glanced around at the large number of students. "Erm, okay..."

Harry called everyone to attention, and I nervously chewed my lip. "Right, so Prudence is going to show you lot the spell. I want you all to watch her form, because form's got a great deal with doing this correctly. Any volunteers to step in?"

"I'll do it." George moved forward with a smirk, his brown eyes dancing with amusement as he gestured for people to hold their applause. The anger in the pit of my stomach bubbled dangerously. He couldn't take anything seriously. I couldn't believe I'd trusted him the other night. I'd thought he was kind like Cedric. But he was cruel, and careless.

Harry stepped out of the way, standing with the throng of students watching us curiously. "When you're ready then."

Fred and Lee were whispering in the back. Luna gave me an encouraging smile. George grinned at me and gave a little wave. Putting as much force behind it as I could muster, I thrust my arm out. "Expelliarmus!"

As George's wand left his hand, he flew backwards, stumbling over his feet until he landed harshly on his back. Lee slipped Fred a galleon.

All the girls screamed in excitement, several of them running over.

"That was amazing! Can you do it again?" Ginny Weasley asked, looking over to where her brother was dusting himself off.

The boys had flocked around George to tell him he was a good sport for making it easy for me. "I think you should do it Ginny," I remarked, causing many of the girls to laugh.

I caught George's eye and raised a brow, to which he grinned and pretended to bow down to me.

"Right, so, with that in mind, I want everyone to partner back up and keep trying! Prudence and I will both be coming around to help," Harry said, and I smiled happily.

By the time the hour was up, six others, including Fred, George, and Ginny, had successfully disarmed their opponents and caught the wand. An additional four had disarmed their partners without controlling the wand's landing. Hermione had been the next person after me to perform the spell correctly, taking Ron's wand in a most spectacular fashion. The twins, upon learning that they could disarm one another, spent the rest of their time stealing Zacharias Smith's wand. Luna was making great progress, and I'd even helped Padma Patil with her wand motions. I felt happier than I had in a long time.

"Great work tonight everyone, fantastic job from all of you! Just keep practicing the spells, and you'll get it next time! Before you leave, everyone take a coin from this box. Hermione will be able to send a message to you with the time and date of the next meeting, so keep an eye out!" Everyone lined up by Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were handing out fake galleons.

George sidled over to me. "Were you trying to knock me on my arse?"

I took my coin from Harry with a grateful smile. "Were you trying to humiliate me when you told them I wasn't coming because of Cedric?"

"What? That's completely backward-"

I sighed, drilling a small hole into the top of the galleon, sliding it onto the chain around my neck, where it came to rest beside the locket and book charm. "George, the entire school already thinks I'm a psychotic freak who was obsessed with Cedric. I don't need you sticking your nose in my business pretending that you understand it, because honestly there's so much that you don't know and wouldn't get. I wasn't afraid to come because of what happened last term; I was afraid of losing my education and the only place that's ever been a home to me. There's a difference."

With a shrug, I pocketed my wand, waved goodbye to Fred and Lee, and headed back to the Hufflepuff common room. Upon entering, I spotted Martin, Patrick, and Terrence by the fire, the former scribbling frantically on a roll of parchment and the latter flexing his biceps for several fifth year girls. All three ignored me, just as it had been for the past six years, and I happily made my way down the tunnel to the girls' dormitories.

I walked along the path quickly, intent on showering and getting in a good four or five chapters from _Anna Karenina _before bed, when I heard the raised voices. Wincing slightly, I reluctantly opened the door and stepped into the room just in time to see an inkwell fly across the room and smash into the wall, splattering my bed and trunk with a black, sticky substance.

The two girls stopped what they were doing and turned to me, their chests heaving. "Oh look," Grace spoke breathlessly, her eyes alight with malice. "Flitwick's little _pet_ is here."

I took this in stride. "Yep, here she is." Noel snorted as I siphoned the ink off of my belongings.

"Grace here decided to try and bait me by telling me about the new interview that Umbridge has set up at the Ministry in the Department of Transportation. Claims that your little stunt would ensure you never getting any job in the wizarding world of any kind, so long as you stuck by Dumbledore, and reckons all Dumbledore supporters will end up cleaning toilets for a living," Noel summed up, her eyes still spitting fire at the blonde who was now filing her nails.

"This may come as a shock to you Grace, but Fudge and Umbridge have no say over any jobs outside of the Ministry. The Healing program at St. Mungo's takes no merit in a person's social or political standing; they only care about a student's grades and magical capabilities. And last I checked, I think I demonstrated quite a bit of my magical capabilities in Charms class today." With a brief look of annoyance, I stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. They were both in bed by the time I exited, and I slid under my covers with a sigh. I couldn't believe the divide that the Ministry had placed at Hogwarts. I only hoped this was as bad as it would get.

* * *

><p>Noel was waiting for me in the common room the next morning, immediately closing her Astronomy textbook when I appeared out of the tunnel. "Morning Prudence."<p>

"Errrr….good morning," I said cautiously.

"So I'm going to be honest with you," she spoke abruptly, moving directly in front of me and staring me unnervingly in the eye. I shifted my weight. "I know you're not helping the Weasley twins with Herbology."

I took a step backwards. "Noel, we've already been over this-"

"I know a lot of things, Prudence. Despite the popular opinion, I'm not unintelligent. For instance, I know you're not close with your family because you've only gotten letters from home four times since you came to here, I know you've been in love with Cedric since third year, I know he bought you that charm round your neck, I know you're too shit at Herbology to be tutoring anyone, I know you have a crush on George Weasley, I know you think something bad happened to Cedric last spring, and I know you're doing something about it in secret," she rattled off, her brown eyes frenzied.

As she folded her arms across her chest, my jaw dropped. "Okay, we're going to be late for breakfast," was all I said, noticing the empty common room. I'd dawdled leaving the dormitory because I'd sat down with the intent of just finishing a paragraph of _Anna Karenina _and had instead finished the entire chapter.

"Then we'll stop off at the kitchens before class." Her tone indicated that we weren't going anywhere.

My stomach growled. "All right look, if you walk with me to the Great Hall, I'll tell you. But if I tell you, I want you to explain how you know about…about the Cedric stuff."

She eyed me for a moment, her ruby red lips glistening and her strawberry blonde hair gleaming in the natural lighting. "Deal."

"I'm not tutoring the Weasley twins in Herbology," I stated as calmly as possible as we clambered through the entrance tunnel. "I'm testing some of their joke products for them in exchange for galleons."

Noel gave me a rueful smile. "Prudence, I'm not going to answer your questions if you don't answer mine."

"But that's the truth of it! That's where I've been going most evenings, to Gryffindor Tower. I've tested Nosebleed Nougats, Fainting Fancies, Puking Pastilles, Fever Fudge, Tongue-Swelling Toffees, a Sleeping Solution, a Daydream Charm, even a Canary Cream." I was desperate for her to believe me, despite me only telling her the half of it.

She was quiet for a moment as we made our way across the Entrance Hall, her heels echoing. "But there's something else going on. You think Voldemort was behind Cedric's death."

The matter-of-fact manner with which she spoke about both You-Know-Who and Cedric made my stomach churn. "Yes. Maybe. I don't know. I'm working on it. And how do you know this?"

"You've been acting like even more of a freak than usual. I've caught you digging around in your trunk on several occasions, you've been going to the library morning, noon, and night, you sketch the maze in Charms class when you think no one's watching, and you constantly clutch at the book pendant." Once again, I was completely baffled by her perceptiveness.

As we walked into the Great Hall, I made to go sit by Lee and the twins, but she yanked me back. "Before you go over there, just tell me. Do you think Voldemort is back?"

Her brown eyes switched back and forth between my own hazel, her breathing slightly heavy. Her fingernails dug into my forearm as she squeezed, awaiting my answer. "Yes."

"I thought so," she said smugly as she released me. "That's why I put that news article in your trunk."

"That was you?" I stopped in my tracks, halfway between the Ravenclaw table and Gryffindor. "Why?"

She shrugged, brushing past me. "I was trying to find out whether or not you had any common sense. Guess you do."

"I don't have a crush on him!" I called after her, getting a few weird looks from the Gryffindors at the end of the table.

But with a flip of her hair, the conversation was over. In another instant she was settled beside Lee, digging into his potatoes with vigor. George looked up and waved me over, leaving me no choice but to follow Noel's path. I sat down heavily on the bench, paying no attention to the biscuits and jam that were placed in front of me, but instead thinking back to all the times I'd ever thought Noel Dalton to be stupid.

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><p><strong>AN: Hey everyone! I hope you liked this chapter. Feel free to let me know what you thought in a review! Up next: Noel answers Prudence's questions, a quidditch match, apologies, and of course, Umbridge acts like a troll. Stay tuned!**


	8. My Mother's Daughter

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

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><p>The next evening I found myself reluctantly testing more of the twins' products. Despite my urge to stay as far away from George as possible, I needed the money, and I didn't want to break my promise to them. Not to mention the fact that I'd never really had anyone to keep promises to before. It was kind of nice. Better, at least, than sitting in my bed for three hours alone.<p>

"So Prudence," Lee started off as he finished recording how long it took my skin to return to its normal color. "We've all been wondering for the past couple of days now what exactly made you change your mind."

Fred nudged me with his foot from his position on his bed. "Yeah, you were acting like a right crazy person! 'Where's the meeting?'" he mocked in a girlish imitation, grabbing at his pillow like I had grabbed at his brother.

I glanced at George, knowing he was expecting me to say something about Cedric. Instead, I replied, "I always thought I'd make a difference in the world once I became a healer. Then I decided that I didn't have to wait to do that."

"That was a bloody beauty pageant answer that was," Lee snorted, taking a hearty sip from his bottle of Firewhiskey. Out of the three of them, Lee drank the most, going through a case of it a week. If he drank like this all the time, he was going to need a liver replacement by the time he was thirty.

I shrugged my shoulders and picked up my satchel. "Well it's true. Look, I came back to my dorm the other night to find Grace and Noel fighting. Apparently Umbridge is setting up a lot of the Ministry-supporting seventh years with job interviews, and Grace was saying how Noel and I would never get hired solely because we support Dumbledore. It just makes me more determined to stick it to them all. I need to graduate with Outstandings in all my subjects, including Defense, which obviously I wouldn't if I was just taking her class. This is the best option."

"So do you believe Harry now?" Fred yawned and stretched his arms lazily behind his head.

I was reminded of Noel's claws digging into my skin at breakfast yesterday morning. "Yes."

The three of them nodded like I hadn't just made a life-altering decision, and with a roll of my eyes I said good night. I wondered if they would even flinch if they came across a group of Death Eaters, or if they would just try and sell them some Puking Pastilles.

"Wait! Before you go," George called after me, rustling around in one of the various boxes surrounding his desk. "Take this. It's the first official Skiving Snackbox. You can have it free of charge, for all the work you've done for us, go on, take it."

I knew this was his way of apologizing, to try and make up for overstepping his boundaries. I accepted the box but turned away, sweeping out of the room without another word. He wasn't going to get forgiveness until I heard the words 'I'm' and 'sorry' come out of his mouth.

"Noel, you look fine, now come on! I've got Potions first thing and I can't be late! Not if I don't want a detention from Snape!"

The strawberry blonde shook her head defiantly, remaining firmly seated on her bed. "I can't go out there like this, I just can't! No one here even knows I own glasses," she spoke, her mouth puckered like she'd eaten something sour.

Exasperated, I rounded on her. "You are Noel Dalton. You've got the boys of Hogwarts swooning at your feet. No one would even say anything about it, because you'd hex them into oblivion. Besides, they look good!"

She glanced up at me uncertainly, then towards the clock. "Oh all right. But only because I've got an Arithmancy exam today."

I'd been woken up at six o'clock this morning by Noel cursing in the bathroom. She'd run out of contacts and couldn't find her spare box, and had now resorted to wearing her old glasses, which, like the rest of her, were actually quite stylish. However Grace had taken one look at Noel and laughed in her face, which resulted in Noel sulking in front of her mirror for an hour.

As we crossed the common room, Noel glared pointedly at a group of fifth years who stared at her, and they all immediately buried their noses into books. "Hmph."

I'd wondered on several occasions what it must be like to be Noel. She always looked like a model about to walk the runway, even in a uniform, and could get any boy she wanted with a flutter of her lashes. Not to mention she could make a student cry with a simple look, and weasel extensions out of professors with one simpering smile.

As we reached the doors to the Great Hall, she flicked back her hair, adjusted her cleavage, rubbed her lips together, and shoved them open. I followed her down the aisle in bemusement as she strutted towards Lee, her heels clacking powerfully against the stone flooring. Several Ravenclaws turned to watch and one even wolf-whistled.

This seemed to restore her confidence, because as she settled herself next to Lee, she leaned across him to grab a strawberry before biting into it slowly, sucking out its juices with a grin.

"Well, I'm awake now," Lee said, placing his satchel over his lap. Fred and George burst into laughter, spraying bits of egg and sausage all over the table.

"Lovely," I muttered, sliding out one of the newest editions to my book collection, A Thousand Acres. I ignored the biscuits George placed onto my dish, instead making myself my usual cup of tea.

Lee tried to recover. "I didn't know you wore glasses Noel."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't."

"Well…they look really nice on you." Lee rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh huh," she responded airily, reaching for a muffin. George's mouth twitched.

Fred nudged me with his foot. "Oi, are you going to try out the snack box in class today?"

"With who? Snape, McGonagall, or Umbridge?" I asked drily, helping myself to some mash.

Noel tilted her head thoughtfully. "You know, I never realized how shitty your schedule is."

Lee and the twins snorted into their breakfast while I sighed and opened my book.

"Good morning all!" came a cheerful voice as Alicia Spinnet seated herself on George's other side. "How is everyone?"

"Better now that you're here," George responded with a wink. As I watched Alicia giggle and elbow him from behind my book, a searing hot pain settled heavily in my stomach.

Forcing myself to return to my reading, I chastised myself, knowing that George and I could never be more than friends. I wasn't even speaking to him at the moment, and it was cruel of me to hope for something to happen between us. It couldn't be healthy that I so constantly compared him to Cedric.

The pair continued to flirt and it took all of my willpower to take in the words in front of me. I flipped the page.

_I suspected that there were things he knew that I had been waiting all my life to learn, _I read, and I glanced up, watching him in consideration. He was now telling a joke to Harry, Ron, and Ginny, his face animated and his hands gesturing wildly. I exchanged an eye roll with Hermione Granger and smiled in spite of myself.

Perhaps I'd judged him too harshly. There had to be more to him than jokes and pranks. He was ambitious enough to be starting his own business. He was kind to his sister. He thought the world of Harry Potter. His marks were good despite his claim that his mind was not to be wasted in a classroom atmosphere. His favorite thing to do was to make people laugh.

I knew I should be grateful for George finding me that night. It had been months since my last panic attack. I was rusty, and unprepared. The things that he'd said had actually made sense, and I'd been thinking about them nonstop. But still…I'd never been so candid with someone before, not even Cedric. He'd never witnessed one of my attacks, and never once saw me cry. It was weirdly personal somehow, and yet George had spread it around like it was common knowledge.

"Oi Turner, are you coming or should I hand you a detention slip myself?" Lee nudged my shoulder, dragging me from my thoughts. With a sigh I put away my book and shouldered my bookbag, following him out of the hall and towards the dungeons. I shivered as the temperature immediately dropped, and wrapped my robes tightly around me.

Lee had graciously offered to be my partner after my falling out with Martin, and at the end of the class, I'd done 90% of the work which had earned us a surprising Outstanding. Every time I received that sort of grade from Snape, it made me incredibly happy. Potions was a class I had to have an O in to get admitted into healing school, not to mention, an O from Snape was a rarity in itself. This was only my fourth Outstanding of the year so far, and we were nearly into November. And he was shockingly hard on even those in his own house.

I supposed there was a certain amount of favor that went into students like Graham Montague even making the cut for NEWT level Potions, but as far as I knew he was barely scraping by with Acceptables. Snape could be foul when he wanted to but I was definitely going to be prepared for the entrance exam into the Healing program, and I could hardly claim he was just giving the grades away to Slytherins.

Ancient Runes passed quickly as always. It was one of my favorite classes, and as it was just Noel and I, we got a lot more work done. She seemed to be thawing towards me bit by bit. She no longer sneered when I entered rooms and wasn't embarrassed to be seen walking with me in public. The other night she'd even told Grace to shove herself down Myrtle's toilet when she had mentioned that I seemed to have quite the thing for quidditch players.

Transfiguration was certainly interesting. We'd been working on turning our partners into inanimate objects, and George had accidently turned Fred's legs into a coat stand, while his torso and head remained. McGonagall had just about had an aneurysm trying to right him, for every time she attempted the spell, George countered it behind her back until he left the classroom with a sore ear and a loss of twenty points for Gryffindor.

The corridors were even more crowded than usual, and I made a face as a Ravenclaw ran by, stomping on my foot as she went. "You'd think that in a school with this much magic they'd have figured out a way to ensure everyone had their own space to walk," I grouched, limping along beside Noel, Lee, and the twins.

"Aw, is ickle Prudence upset because her toesies hurt?" Fred asked, pinching my cheek. I slapped his hand away.

With a glare, I kept my gaze ahead. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."

"Don't worry, I've got it covered," George said arrogantly. "OI, PEE-BRAINS, COMING THROUGH, COMING THROUGH, GOT AN IMPORTANT BUSINESS DEAL TO TAKE CARE OF, BUDGE OVER!" he shouted, using the wide span of his arms to clear a path. He then placed one arm around me and the other around Noel.

The latter raised a brow. "Can I help you with something?"

He pretended to think about it. "I was just wondering if you two lovely ladies were going to come to the match tomorrow afternoon, to show some Gryffindor spirit."

"We're Hufflepuffs," she responded drily, shrugging him off her.

"Do you want the Slytherins to win?!" Lee asked in outrage.

Noel rolled her eyes. "Do you really think two Hufflepuffs dressed in scarlet will make that much of a difference?"

Lee blinked. "…yes!"

"Urgh, fine. It's not like I have anything else to do. All the cute boys will be there anyway." Lee looked thoroughly put out as we rounded the corner.

George stared at me but I remained staring down the corridor, my arms now rigid at my sides. The only quidditch matches I'd gone to were the ones Cedric played in, because he had always asked me to come. He always said he would play better knowing there was one more person cheering him on.

"Are you coming or not?" Fred demanded as we reached Umbridge's classroom.

Finally separating myself from George, I took my seat in the back between Noel and Lee. "I suppose…"

"Excellent!" the twins cried, rubbing their hands together.

"What is excellent, Misters Weasley, is the two of you remaining quiet while I am teaching. Five points from Gryffindor," Umbridge said smugly as she closed the door behind her. Montague and Adrian Pucey smirked behind their hands and Angelina turned to the twins and shook her head with wide eyes.

Reluctantly, both Fred and George remained silent, although George began working a groove into the desk with his quill. Class was the usual Ministry-approved lecture. We learned the method behind several protective spells, such as 'salvio hexia' and 'protego totalum.' In other words, completely useless information. Even a third year would be able to cast these charms, but this was no good if we didn't even get to practice them.

Suddenly the skin around my neck began to burn, and I let out a cry of pain. Slowly, the class turned towards me.

"Is everything all right Miss Turner?" Umbridge asked with a wide smile, looking quite like she would enjoy it if everything was not all right.

Ignoring the blistering heat against my chest, I forced a smile. "Apologies Professor. I nicked myself on my quill."

To my relief, she continued with her lecture after another nasty smile was directed my way. Fred, George, and Lee shot me knowing looks as they dug around in their pockets but I ignored them, as Noel was sitting on my left. As casually as I could I pulled my necklace out from beneath my shirt and rested it on top of my sweater. The pain immediately resided, but I could feel the heat slowly seeping from my skin.

I waited a painstaking five minutes until I glanced at it. The next meeting was in three days' time, at eight o'clock. Chewing on my lip, I reached up to tuck the necklace back under my robes. My fingers grasped the small, metal book charm as I did so, running over its sharp edges and the ripples of the pages. Noel raised a brow at me as George shifted in his seat, turning towards the wall.

Class seemed to take forever.

"You never answered my question the other day." Noel jumped as she walked into the dormitory.

"Jesus Christ, Turner, are you trying to give me stress wrinkles?" With a simpering look tossed my way, she sat down primly at her desk and took out a small container of red nail polish. "I'm going to do my nails for the game tomorrow. You can borrow it after, if you'd like."

Right. The quidditch match. The first quidditch match I would be going to that Cedric wasn't playing in. "No, thanks. But I'd quite like to know how you knew all of that stuff about me. Particularly the stuff about…Cedric."

Noel pursed her perfectly painted lips and tilted her head, focusing on the tip of her thumb nail. "Well, he talked about you all the bloody time."

"He did?" I asked, my book long forgotten as it fell to the floor heavily.

"Don't play stupid, it doesn't suit you. You play this game like you're so shy and innocent, you make it seem like everyone else is the bully and you're the victim. But it was _you _who never talked to _us. _You only spoke to those you deemed important enough, like Cedric. You were too good for us immature teenagers, and our parties and our plans and our lives." She blew on her nails, waving her hand about.

My jaw dropped open. "_What?!"_ She didn't respond. "Noel, you do realize that the very first day we got here, I tried to befriend you and Grace and you both ignored me."

"So? We were eleven! I never said kids were nice, and I never said I was either. But you never even bothered after that. We saw each other all day, every day for six years and you were always too busy to even say hello, or ask how my day was going. Then you show up for school in September looking like a little, lost puppy, and all the boys flock to you because you're so sad and heartbroken. Urgh."

I stood up and began to pace slightly, because I was too amped up to sit still. "But-but it's not like you were trying to be my friend either."

"No?" Noel turned around to face me suddenly. "So you don't remember the time in second year when your copy of Gone With the Wind tore, and you didn't know the repairing spell, and I put it back together for you? Or…how about in fourth year when you spilled ink all down your front one morning before classes, and I lent you my last clean uniform shirt? Fifth year, when those fucking first years were flicking spit balls at you in the library and they suddenly had boils all over their sticky fingers? Last year, when I invited you to sit with us on the train and you blew us off because your sodding romance novel was much cooler than actual people."

My brow furrowed. When she said it like that…I guess I seemed pretty frigid. But she was just feeling sorry for herself! She was probably jealous I was getting all this attention. No, wait, I wasn't getting any attention. "Noel, those weren't attempts at friendship, those were basic human courtesies. Okay, maybe the first years in the library was kind of you, but I didn't even know that was you! I thought it was Hannah Abbott! And I didn't sit with you because why would someone, who's bloody terrified of people, want to sit in a compartment full of them knowing nothing about them?"

"There you go playing that game again," she muttered.

"Noel, it's not a game! I suppose it looked worse than it really was, but I wasn't trying to place myself above anyone else. Honestly, even making accidental eye contact with a stranger makes me feel nauseous. I can hardly hold a conversation with someone that I _do_ know, let alone acquaintances. But we're getting off topic. I answered your question, so you answer mine." Defiantly, I folded my arms across my chest.

With a roll of her eyes and a toss of her hair, she sighed and slapped her hands against her thighs. "All right. Cedric talked about you. Non-stop. About how funny you were, how clever, how witty. How smart you were, how you were always saying such profound things on your rounds or during your little study sessions. So your relationship with him wasn't as invisible as you thought.

"I started watching you. How your face lit up when he walked in a room. How you blushed whenever he so much as looked at you. How almost five months later you still hold that pendant like it's the only thing that's keeping you here."

A tear escaped and slid down my cheek before I could wipe it away. "He really talked about me?"

"And still that's the only thing you're taking away from this conversation. Why do I bother?" she said sarcastically.

"Why are you being so horrible? You don't know what it was like for me. I was alone and sad and shy and awkward…and Cedric was bright and friendly and kind. He listened. He cared. I wasn't like you, with someone constantly pursuing me and friends to spare. I was pathetic, okay, and we both know that! Why do you even care about this?" I was now crying openly, and my fingers couldn't suppress the steady flow.

There was a pause, during which Noel shuffled around in one of her desk drawers. She nudged me gently and I looked up from my hands to find her extending a wad of tissue. As I took it, she sighed. "I'm not trying to be mean. I'm being honest. All I'm saying is that to everyone else it seemed like you were a bit stuck up. Admittedly, I figured out you weren't the day you blew up at Grace and the lot…but it's hard to forget six years of silence."

I didn't answer, just picked my book up off the floor and sat on my bed, dabbing my eyes. My cheeks felt scratchy and my head ached.

"If you want to borrow it, the nail polish will be right here. And I'd like to go with you to the match tomorrow, if you're okay with it. So…good night."

Only when the door closed behind her did I look up, and I stared at the polish with a scrutinizing look. Did the students here really think I was a snob? Had Cedric actually had conversations about me with his mates? Had Noel actually been trying to be my friend?

I let out a short groan of frustration and got up, heading into the bathroom where I splashed my face with cold water. What did I want? I'd never really had any choices before when it came to friendship or boys. My face was pale and my eyes were blotchy. My dark, curly hair was lank, and lifeless. Sleep. That was what I wanted.

"Where's Noel?" Lee inquired as I joined him at the Gryffindor table the next morning. George was glaring at the Slytherin table, where Draco Malfoy and Marcus Flint were passing out buttons.

Ignoring Lee, I frowned. "Oi, what do those say?"

"They're making fun of Ron. Can't let him see them," Fred muttered, looking up from his sausage.

I observed the twins. This was the first time I'd seen both of them so subdued. Pursing my lips, I dropped my fork, got up from the bench, and walked across the hall. The Slytherins looked up as I came to a stop in front of them.

Graham Montague licked his lips. "To what do we owe this pleasure?" he asked smarmily, eyeing me up and down.

"The buttons. Hand them over," I said crisply, holding out my hand.

"Ooh," Flint laughed. "Nice nails, half-breed, I see you're supporting Gryffindor today. Or are you a mudblood? Know you can't be pure, I can smell the filth on you."

Malfoy smirked so broadly I thought his face was going to split in two. "She's half. Her mother was a Gryffindor. Married a Muggle. And now she's got a pathetic little half-breed daughter."

How did he know that? No one at Hogwarts knew about my mother. But I supposed his family had ties to the Death Eaters. He gave me a knowing look.

My heart dropped into my stomach and I felt my legs quiver, but I swallowed and held my ground. "As a prefect, I'm going to confiscate these buttons. I don't want to see anyone wearing them, or you'll be reported to your Head of House. And I'm taking fifteen points from Slytherin for failure to follow orders, foul language, and insolence."

I snatched up the box containing the buttons and turned on my heel, ready to get away from the Slytherin table, but a tall, dark skinned girl stood suddenly, blocking my way. She raised her wand, and I realized in a panic that it was pointed at me.

Then I heard a cry from behind me and I whirled to see Montague scrambling under the table to retrieve his own wand, which had been knocked from his hand.

"Not going to curse someone with their back turned, were you Graham?" she asked. Then she rolled her eyes. "I hate people on power trips."

"Thanks," I said quietly. "That could've gotten nasty."

She opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off by Snape. "What is going on here?"

"I came over here to confiscate these buttons, Sir, they're quite rude, and erm, they all, er, refused. And then they were using foul language. So I took fifteen points. And then one of them tried to jinx me while my back was turned, Sir," I said quietly, keeping my eyes on the ground.

Snape turned to the girl. "Is this true, Miss Farley?"

Farley. Right. Her name was Gemma Farley, the seventh year female prefect for Slytherin House.

"Unfortunately, Professor, it's true. They were breaking several rules." Gemma shot the group of boys a filthy glare. Flint bared his buck teeth.

He was quiet for a moment as he assessed the situation. "Miss Turner, as a prefect, surely you must know that these buttons weren't against any school rules in the first place, so there was no reason for you to be over here. And if you were not over here interrogating my students, then surely they would have had no reason to break any rules at all. Therefore, I must return ten of the points that you took. Next time, leave the disciplining to a professor."

"Yes, Sir," I muttered, my cheeks burning. I kept my gaze down as I moved around Snape and Gemma and hastened back to my seat at the Gryffindor table.

"Are you okay?" George asked immediately, taking the box and shoving it under the table so Ron wouldn't see it.

I nodded, but my shaking hands gave it away. Fred wrapped an arm around me. "That was bloody awesome! You stood up to five Slytherins _and _greasy old Snape all in one!"

"I didn't stand up to anyone. Snape was right. I had no reason to be over there." With a bit of difficulty, I poured myself a cup of tea.

Lee shook his head in vigor. "No, I'm sure there's a rule against this sort of propaganda somewhere. At the very least it's unsportsmen-like. In professional quidditch, if the players were seen with any sort of merchandise like that, they'd have earned a penalty shot against them."

George flicked a bit of egg at him. "How on Earth do you know that? I didn't know that, and I play quidditch."

"Hey, me too!" Fred exclaimed in mock surprise.

The two exchanged a mischievous grin and high-fived. "Twins!"

I giggled slightly as I tore apart a breakfast roll.

"There's that smile I was looking for," Fred said encouragingly, sliding the bowl of sugar towards me. I gratefully poured a spoonful into my cup.

"Oi, you two, we're having a team meeting in the locker room in ten minutes, you'd better get down there now. And _no _hexing Slytherins on the way there! Umbridge will suspend the team in an instant, with or without a reason," Angelina threatened as she came up behind us.

Fred and George both rose, clutching their quidditch kits. "Good luck," I called after them. Fred winked. George tossed me a backwards look before turning and walking out of the hall.

"I'd better be getting down to the pitch as well. Want to start warming up my voice, I'm sure I'm going to be calling a lot of fouls," Lee spoke, draining his goblet of pumpkin juice. "You coming?"

I watched a group of rowdy Ravenclaws stream out the doors, bearing scarlet scarves. Then I turned my attention to the high table, where Snape was looking happier than I'd seen him since the term had begun.

"Yes, just one moment." I stood, retrieving my wand from my pocket. With a few quick spells, my sweater, scarf, and robes were all a brilliant, ruby red, and my already painted nails, which I had done early this morning, now sparkled and were embellished with lion heads.

Lee nodded approvingly. "Let's go watch some snakes get destroyed, eh?"

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><p><strong>AN: Hello all, here's the latest installment of Prudence and Co. If you liked it, or even if you hated it, drop a review so I can hear your thoughts! Stay tuned for the match, something like an apology, and another Dumbledore's Army meeting! And let's not forget about Kenneth!**


	9. For Life

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

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><p>The walk down to the pitch with Lee seemed to take forever. I had to stop when I saw students wearing the buttons, and before I had even crossed the Entrance Hall I was thoroughly unpopular amongst the Slytherins and Ravenclaws. The badges were an ugly putrid color and bore Ron's face, with the words, 'Weasley is Our King' plastered across it. If you poked it with your wand, his face contorted like he was spewing out vomit.<p>

By the time we had reached the grounds, players were already taking warm up laps and I was thoroughly irritated. I understood that Gryffindor and Slytherin had bad blood between them: both were prideful, the Gryffindors extremely open about their diversity and the Slytherins were notoriously monolithic. I just couldn't believe how cruel students could be to one another. Were we not all magical?

"All right, I've got to head up to the commentator's booth, I'll see you after the match. Oi, and tell Noel she looks foxy for me!" Lee called as he jogged away, dodging a Slytherin who shot past him, his feet skimming the grass.

"Merlin…" I muttered to myself. Quidditch was honestly a crazy sport. Only people who were psychotic could ride on a piece of enchanted wood that went up to eighty miles an hour, flying around dodging balls of metal that hurled themselves at you. And that said nothing about the other players who could knock you off your broom in ways much more creative than a bludger.

Nervously, I forced my way through the throng of students heading up to the Hufflepuff stands. The majority of my house wore scarlet with their yellow robes, and I didn't see any of the blasted buttons, thankfully. Noel was seated in the exact center of the benches, applying her typical red lipstick and ignoring the cluster of fourth years trying to casually sneak a peek under her skirt.

I wrung my hands slightly as I made my way over to her, before sticking them in the pockets of my jacket. "Can I sit here?"

She looked up slowly. "Let me see your nails."

Frowning, I held them out to her. After about thirty seconds, she nodded. "Sit."

Feeling like a dog, I settled myself beside her and found Fred and George, their shocking red hair making them stand out, even from two hundred feet in the air. They were shooting a bludger back and forth between each other, completely unfazed by its unpredictability.

"God bless their mother," I stated, watching in awe as the bludger came inches away from taking Fred's head off, who promptly laughed and spun around on his broom.

Noel snorted in laughter. "So I saw you come down here with Lee."

"Yeah, oh, yeah he said to tell you that you look foxy." I pressed my lips together. That sounded much weirder to say aloud as a third party.

"But he hasn't even seen me today." She looked thoroughly put off by this fact.

I shrugged as the players touched down. They were gathered by Madame Hooch. "He thinks you look foxy every day I guess. He seems quite…fond of you."

"Yeah…" We both watched Marcus Flint crush Angelina Johnson's fingers. To her credit, she didn't flinch.

Madame Hooch blew her whistle, and fourteen players shot up into the air.

"And it's Gryffindor with possession! Chaser Katie Bell speeds down the pitch towards Captain Flint, she shoots, she – oh, tough luck Katie. I suppose Flint's troll-like physique comes in handy sometimes – sorry Professor!"

The crowd laughed uproariously as Lee dodged McGonagall's hands grabbing for the microphone.

"Pucey of Slytherin now in control, he's headed for Gryffindor's new keeper Ron Weasley, aaaand 10 points to Slytherin." Lee sounded less than enthusiastic, and I heard Harry yell down to Ron words of encouragement. He did not look well at all. In fact, he looked like he might be ill.

Fred looped around Alicia Spinnet as he whacked a bludger out of her path. It took out Montague, who swore loudly as he clutched his arm.

"NICE ONE, FRED!" I yelled through cupped hands. Noel eyed me in surprise.

My ears pricked up as I began to hear the strains of music. "What is that?"

Noel and I turned our heads towards the Slytherin stands. "Weasley is our king, Weasley is our king, he always lets the quaffle in, Weasley is our king!"

"Are you kidding me?" Angrily, I stood and aimed my wand at the mass of emerald. One by one I fired off silencing spells, but it was no use. There were too many of them, even with Noel helping once she realized my intentions.

Pansy Parkinson got up in front and faced her house, pretending to conduct with her wand. The music surged, and a quick glance at Ron showed that he heard every note.

I chewed on my lip. I'd been reading up on defensive spells lately, in preparation for the next DA meeting, and I had seen this one jinx… "Langlock," I whispered, and all of a sudden Pansy clutched at her throat.

My heart seized up. Had I just cut off her air supply? Oh my God, what had I done?

After a beat she managed to communicate to Millicent Bulstrode what had happened, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"What the hell was that?"

I turned to her guiltily. "Er, it's this spell called 'langlock.' It glues a person's tongue to the roof of their mouth."

Her brown eyes widened and I half expected a lecture. "Brilliant!" And she began to jinx every single Slytherin.

"WEASLEY IS OUR KING, WEASLEY IS OUR KING, HE ALWAYS LET'S THE QUAFFLE IN, WEASLEY IS OUR KING!"

Ron looked positively green.

"40-10, Slytherin…"

More frantically now, I kept at it, but quickly forced Noel down into her seat as I caught Snape's eye. "We've got to stop. Snape's looking. There's nothing against singing at a quidditch match, but there certainly is against hexing other students."

She nodded in acceptance as Slytherin scored once again.

"What is this? Is it – yes! Harry Potter has seen the snitch!"

The crowd murmured in excitement as we all shifted our attention to Harry, who was shooting straight for the ground, Malfoy on his tail. I gripped the hard bench tightly with my fingertips, my breathing getting quicker and quicker.

"He's going to crash!" Noel cried, and there were whispers of assent among those nearest us.

Malfoy pulled up on his broom, but Harry kept going, he was forty feet from the ground, thirty, twenty –

"HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Lee shouted, and the pitch erupted in cheers.

Noel grabbed my arms and we jumped up and down, shrieking. That was a huge defeat! Slytherin would have to beat both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw by a wide margin to continue on for the Quidditch Cup.

We followed the crowd as everyone started to head onto the pitch, when suddenly I watched Fred and George get yanked back.

"Noel, look," I said as I pointed. Draco Malfoy was standing smugly on the grass, leaning against his broom. It was clear even from all the way up here that he was goading them. Harry was restraining George, and it took Angelina, Alicia, and Katie together to hold back Fred.

"Holy shit!"

All of a sudden, Harry and George were both streaking towards the Slytherin, and he was on the ground, with Harry and George landing blow after blow.

Nothing like this had ever happened at a quidditch match that I'd seen. I couldn't believe that George would let himself get worked up like that! Harry of course had issues with Malfoy, but George was…well, he was George! He didn't get angry, and he certainly didn't get violent.

The pair of them were thrown backwards by an irate-looking McGonagall, whose face was white with fury. As Madame Pomfrey rushed over to tend to Malfoy, McGonagall pointed at the castle with a severe look, and both Harry and George stalked off the pitch, leaving their brooms behind. Angelina was trying to plead with Madame Hooch and Umbridge, who had, of course found her way to the scene of the crime.

"What do you think is going to happen to them?" I asked, trying to find a clearer path out of the stands through the sea of students.

Noel shook her head in awe. "I don't know…Umbridge will probably try and get the Gryffindor team disbanded or something."

I turned to her. "Do you think?"

"Well, look at it this way. She's evil. She was a Slytherin. She's Fudge's puppet, meaning she's very anti-Potter. And she's already got a history with the twins," she said matter-of-factly.

We were both quiet for several tense moments as we fought our way through the throng. Once we had reached solid ground and we had broken off from the mob, she spoke again.

"You know, Voldemort is a villain, but one that most people never face directly. We, however, have to face Umbridge every day."

My stomach churned uncomfortably like it did every time she said his name. "Noel, you can't seriously be comparing the two. I mean, I know Umbridge is horrible, but-"

"No!" she cut me off. "Umbridge makes students write with their own blood as a punishment for even the most meager of infractions. You know that little third year, Stephanie Featherby? She got a detention for chewing gum and came back bawling. That's just cruel. I bet Umbridge is a Muggle-hater."

Nervously, I glanced around. "Don't say stuff like that in public, come on, Noel! You never know who could hear you."

She shot me an incredulous look. "Prudence, she's not in the mafia, and this isn't the Ministry. There's nothing against speculation. You can't say you don't agree."

"Well, I haven't seen her treat the Muggle-borns any differently," I said fairly.

"Have you seen a single Slytherin get so much as a reprimanding? Don't stick up for her. Remember your detention?"

I rubbed the back of my left hand with my thumb. The scars had smoothed over slightly, but the letters had turned a pinkish white, and often times throughout the day it throbbed, dragging me back to that lace-infested office. "Yes I remember, thanks."

She shrugged, and the two of us did not speak until we reached the castle. Everyone was discussing the fight. The Slytherins looked mutinous, and the Gryffindors dumbfounded. We could all guess that nothing good was coming for their team.

We clambered through the tunnel to our common room. Grace was simpering by the fire, with Martin massaging her shoulders.

"And I really didn't think you could be any more of a twat," Noel scoffed, her hair streaming behind her as she sashayed her way to our dormitory. I pressed my lips together to contain my laughter as Grace sneered and Patrick shot Noel a rude hand gesture.

Grace's life was something out of a teenage movie. She forced those around her to treat her like a princess. I think she thought she truly was royalty. It was all very odd. Perhaps she was truly deluded.

With a shake of my head, I followed Noel into our room, taking a seat at my desk. I had some Transfiguration homework left to do for class on Monday, and as I had rounds with Kenneth tonight and an essay or three to write tomorrow, I figured I should get it out of the way now.

Noel was on her bed examining various magazines. She ever so carefully selected a glittery pink one, settling back against her pillows with a self-satisfactory sigh.

"Don't you have any work to do?" I asked in disbelief. I never saw her doing any assignments, but somehow she always managed to ace her classes.

She shrugged. "I did it all yesterday."

"All…what?"

"All of my homework for Monday and Tuesday."

Blinking, I glanced at the pile of books and parchment that were taking up a large portion of my desk. It was taller than my head. "How is that possible? You were only in the library for two hours."

Noel gave me a condescending grin. "Well, you see Prudence, if you already know the answers to the essay prompts and don't need to spend all of your precious time pouring through books older than Merlin himself, it takes no time at all. Besides, Flitwick doesn't care about page references and Sinistra only ever reads the beginning and end. You can write whatever you want in the middle."

I tossed down my quill in frustration. I worked so hard for my grades. I wasn't the most intelligent student at Hogwarts by any means. Transfiguration and Astronomy were the only subjects that I didn't have to force the grades for. Every other class was a struggle for me, day in and day out. And yet people like Noel just seemed to have this magical ability – no pun intended – to grasp every concept and absorb it into their brain.

"I'm going to find George," I muttered. I grabbed a bottle of murtlap out of my drawer, tucked my wand into the back pocket of my jeans, and let the door slam shut behind me. How was I supposed to concentrate with Noel flipping her bubblegum –scented magazine pages, anyway?

The halls were relatively empty. I figured by now, everyone was either in their common room gossiping about the match or were in the library with their noses buried in books. I had to apologize to George. I'd been acting like a child all week, and I knew he was probably going to need the murtlap for all his future detentions.

I hopped over the trick step on the fourth floor, then ducked beneath a tapestry that I'd seen Lee disappear behind the other day when he needed to run back to his room for his Charms book. I hurriedly lit my wand. I loathed the dark, and I hated small spaces as well, but whatever got me to Gryffindor Tower the fastest was best.

Walking quickly, I emerged outside the stretch of wall that housed the Room of Requirement. Smiling slightly to myself, I hurried down the corridor until I came across the Fat Lady. "Er…pig snout," I stated, hoping this was still the password. To my relief, she swung open. I had a feeling my still-scarlet clothing had something to do with the fact.

The common room was fairly crowded, and I saw Fred sitting around the fire with Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Harry, Ron, and Ginny. Not a single one of them was speaking.

"Hey," I said quietly as I walked over. They looked up in surprise. "What happened?"

Angelina scowled and rested her forehead in her hands. Katie rubbed her back soothingly.

"Lifetime ban," Fred croaked, shaking his head. I looked to Harry for confirmation, who nodded, his eyes dark.

I stood there for a moment. "Is George upstairs?"

At Ginny's confirmation, I gave Fred and awkward pat on the shoulder and Harry a sympathetic smile before heading up the staircase. My steps were slow as I tried to form sentences in my mind of what I was going to say. I knew I should be sensitive, and kind, and cautious. But all I really wanted to say was, "what the hell were you thinking?!" and whack him over the back of the head.

After several minutes of climbing, I came to a stop outside their door, which was engraved with the initials of many who had inhabited the room before them. I could feel a slight draft at my ankles. I knocked twice, and when there was no answer, I pushed it open. George was standing by the window, hurling objects out of it with his back to me. From the looks of it, most everything that went flying was Kenneth's.

"George?" My voice was timid. He turned, dropping the socks that had been in his hand.

He didn't respond, so I stepped closer. His lip was bleeding. "I can fix that, if you want."

George shook his head. I tried again. "Was he saying things about your family?" He nodded reluctantly. "Your blood status?" He gave another, short nod. "Do you want to talk about it?" When George shook his head, I rubbed my hand against my thigh. "Can I say something then?"

Once again, he remained silent, so I took a deep breath. "Look, I know I've been acting stupid. I just thought that you couldn't take anything seriously. I thought that everything was one big joke to you, including me. You have to realize that I'm not upfront about things like you are. I don't tell people things. For me to have told you the stuff…about Cedric, it was a big deal. And then you went and told your brothers and Harry and Hermione about it and it upset me."

His eyes suddenly caught mine and I nearly lost my nerve, but I forced myself to keep going. "But I- I get it now. You weren't trying to hurt me. It's just how you are. You're open and honest, and it probably didn't seem like anything to you. And I was wrong, you can take things seriously…I think it speaks a lot about your character that you can take so much hatred and anger and just keep smiling, and keep other people smiling. So I wanted to say…I'm sorry George. I'm so sorry." I couldn't think of anything else to say, so I waited.

Ever so slowly, his head bowed in a nod of acceptance, and I moved forward, gently wrapping my arms around him. He was surprisingly warm for someone who had been standing next to an open window. After a moment, his hands found their way to my back, and he placed his chin on my shoulder. "I'm sorry too. I'm an idiot."

"No, you're not," I said as I pulled back. My cheeks were slightly flushed, but I hope the dimmed lighting hid the fact.

"Everyone knows Malfoy is a poor sport. I should have ignored it, I just-" he cut himself off as he clenched his fists.

I grabbed his wrist. "Hey. You're good, George Weasley. And I think I'm a pretty good judge of character considering all I did for six years was sit back and observe everyone. You're ten times what most of the other students here are. So you lost control, it happens. It doesn't make you a bad person. And I'm not one to condone violence, but everyone could tell that Malfoy clearly deserved it."

There was a pause during which George retrieved the socks. "Thanks, Prudence."

I blushed again as we watched them soar out the window. "Do you want to go downstairs?"

"No," he replied, and another pair of socks made their way outside.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He chuckled slightly. "Not even slightly."

Biting down on my lips, which were raw from the cold air, I glanced down at his stockpile of Kenneth's belongings. "Do you want some help with these?"

George looked over to me, a look of complete bewilderment on his face. Then, to my surprise, he threw his head back and laughed. "I honestly didn't think anyone could make me feel better."

Grabbing a tie, I balled it up and flung it. It unraveled and streamed downwards like a parade ribbon. "So I cheered you up?"

"Maybe." He shot me a sideways glance, and I nudged him with my elbow. Soon, we were in a nudging match, and I laughed aloud.

After another five minutes, a particularly frigid breeze blew past, and George shut the window. "You don't have to stay if you want. You can go, I'm all right."

I shrugged. "I'm good up here. My other option is to go on rounds with Kenneth, but I think I'd rather give Filch a spongebath."

"You're truly disgusting," George said as we both settled ourselves on his bed. "And Prudence Turner skiving off prefect duties, who knew?"

"Hey, the world may never see it again," I stated, and I tucked my legs beneath myself after sliding off my boots. My left sock had a hole in the toe.

We were quiet for a while, George staring out the window and me staring down at the bedspread.

"Prudence?" he said suddenly, and I glanced up at him. "Thanks."

I smiled. "You're welcome."

* * *

><p>I woke up completely exhausted the next morning. I'd stayed up in George's dormitory for hours, with him, Lee and Fred until it was nearly curfew. I only left because I didn't fancy Kenneth coming back and lecturing me for skipping rounds. By the time I'd returned to my own room, both Noel and Grace were sleeping, but I still needed to finish my homework, so I sat by the fire until long after it had died out. I think I managed to get at least five hours of sleep before I was awoken by Grace singing in the shower.<p>

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Fred greeted me, his lips twitching.

I made an indistinct noise and poured myself a very large cup of tea, rubbing at the very large bags beneath my eyes. "McGonagall's essay took me ages last night."

Lee raised a brow. "You realize you could've done it today. It's Sunday."

I took a bite out of a nearby croissant. "Are you aware of just how much homework we have? All today I've got a 14 inch essay for Flitwick, a footer for Trollbridge, five pages of translations for Ancient Runes, and at some point I've got to do my star chart."

George nodded. "What say we all go up to the Astronomy Tower on Tuesday night? That way the three of us can copy Prudence's answers!"

"Or I could enchant my paper so that anytime someone besides me looked at it, they'd find themselves vomiting up blood." With a shrug, I crammed a forkful of peppered eggs into my mouth.

All three of them shuddered. "Let's make it a team effort!" Lee suggested hastily, and I grinned triumphantly.

Sunday passed relatively quickly, considering I spent seven hours in the library. Noel was nowhere to be found, but Lee joined me for a bit to do his own Charms essay. The twins mysteriously claimed they had some business to attend to elsewhere, and I didn't see them again until it was time for dinner.

Charles Goldstein, the Head Boy, had cornered me on my way to the Great Hall. Apparently both Kenneth and Jennifer were upset with me, as Kenneth's rounds had taken him extra long to complete yesterday and the Head Girl had suffered through an earful of it.

Thankfully, Charles was much nicer than his female counterpart, and simply told me that I could join Gemma Farley on her rounds on Tuesday evening, and it would be considered taken care of.

At the Gryffindor Table, Noel was still suspiciously absent, making Lee pout all through his shepherd's pie. The twins had come straight from the grounds where they had been serving detention with Professor Grubbly-Plank, and stank of sweat and dirt. It seemed that however angry McGonagall had been with them yesterday afternoon, she refused to give them detention with Umbridge. Perhaps she did know what went on in that woman's office.

Once again, as we sat by Alicia Spinnet, who had her Astronomy work in front of her, our late night rendezvous was brought up.

"It'll have to be after my rounds. I just got new ones to make up for yesterday and I can't miss them," I cautioned. "If I skip again, I'll be reported, and I don't fancy Jennifer Mickelson coming after me."

All four of us looked towards the Ravenclaw table. She was sitting ramrod straight, chugging pumpkin juice as she sped-read from her Arithmancy textbook, writing furiously on a piece of parchment without even glancing down. When a third year reached across her to get to the pasties, she snarled so loudly that the girl fled down the bench.

"So after rounds then?" Fred inquired, and I sighed, resting my chin in my hand.

Monday, unlike Sunday, seemed to go on forever. I woke up much too early, with the sky still asleep, and I tossed and turned for an hour before giving up and reading a library book about Death Eaters by wandlight. I had then fallen back asleep, had a horrific nightmare about my mother, and missed breakfast completely.

Double Charms on an empty stomach put me in a foul mood. As a joke, Fred tried to charm my ponytail to create a cheerleading routine, but he quickly stopped when he could no longer feel his arm. Astronomy wasn't much better. On top of the star chart that was due on Wednesday, she assigned us an essay on the moons of Neptune and their roles with magical auras, and Muggle Studies was painfully dull.

I usually found the subject fascinating, because although I grew up in the Muggle world, I loved hearing about it from the wizard's point of view; however, all we discussed that class was Muggle fashion throughout the seventies and eighties, and though Noel may have loved it, I found myself sketching for the better part of an hour. It wasn't until the bell had rung that I realized I had drawn Cedric's face, next to a gruesome looking Dark Mark.

I showed up to Herbology thoroughly shaken by my subconscious, and I was counting my blessings that I sat alone in Burbage's class, or else I had a feeling I would be taken to Madame Pomfrey to have my sanity examined. Shockingly, Herbology turned out to be the best class of the day. All we had to do was put our Monkshood plants to sleep with a well-placed stream of warm water, and then write down our findings.

"Noel, where were you all day yesterday?" I asked as I jotted down a sentence, the ink splattering against my fingers.

She tossed back her hair. "Just around, you know. People to see, places to go."

I blinked. "Uh huh. Well, I just thought it was interesting that our dormitory was empty, and no one saw you around the common room all day. And I know you weren't in the library, or on the grounds. The twins were outside doing detention."

"You know, I don't pry into your personal life," she snapped.

"Actually, you do. Quite a bit." With a raised brow, I shook my head and returned to my work. She'd been acting weirdly all day. In Charms she'd barely managed to change her facial features, disappointing even Flitwick, who tried his hardest to be pleased with all of his students. She'd sat alone in Astronomy, looking into her telescope any time Lee or I attempted conversation. Now, she was biting my head off every time I inquired about her Sunday or even tried to bring up her odd behavior today.

She ignored me, and we worked in silence until the bell rang. To my complete and utter surprise, Noel accompanied me to the library, despite her obvious annoyance with me. "I thought you didn't have any homework to do for tomorrow?"

"I don't." With her signature eye roll, she flung her bag down and rustled around in it for a moment before victoriously pulling out a piece of parchment.

Trying my best to disregard her frantic scribbling, I took out my barely used Defense textbook. This would make it the second time I had opened it outside of Umbridge's classroom, and it was only because of the essay that she had assigned about the properties of the non-verbal Expelliarmus charm. I completed the roll of parchment with a smirk, thanking Harry in my head. How ironic was it that the boy she had branded a liar, the boy she was trying so hard to discredit, was helping me to ace DADA?

With a frown, I noticed Noel was still writing, the parchment now rolling onto the floor. "Oi, whose essay are you writing? And don't try to tell me you're getting ahead, because I know you."

"It's not an essay, Prudence. It's a letter." She did not look up, and did not even spare me an eye roll.

"Who are you writing a novel to then?" I asked incredulously as I replaced my Defense spellbook with my Ancient Runes.

This time, she did look up. Her brown eyes were glaring at me. "Snape's mum," she snapped.

Taking this as my cue to back off, I bent my head over my translations. The sun had disappeared an hour ago, casting an eerie sort of shadow across the room. It was getting dark earlier now, officially marking the end of autumn. It was the first of November, and soon we would be getting snow. The thought depressed me. I didn't mind the cold weather, but staring at all of the barren trees and frozen flowerbeds made me sad.

A glance at my watch showed me it was a quarter till eight. Noel was, to my amazement, still sitting across from me. She was no longer writing, but was instead reading her words with a look of complete concentration upon her face.

"Come on. Get up. I've got something to show you," I said suddenly.

Noel looked at me like I had grown another head. "Excuse me?"

"Get up. Come on, get up!" I urged her as loudly as I dared. I'd seen Madame Pince lurking about in the Great Wizards of the 18th Century section. Looking immensely pissed off, Noel rolled up her parchment and stowed it in her bag, following me out of the library with very clipped footsteps.

I tugged on her wrist to increase her pace, but as we reached the fourth floor, she yanked it from my grasp. "I'm not going another step until you tell me where in the Tenth Circle of Hell you are taking me!"

I glanced around the empty corridor before I leaned in. "I'm going to prove you right, get it?"

Her eyes widened. "So I was correct…you're doing something being Umbridge's back."

"Do you want in, or not?" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips.

She was silent for a moment, observing me with a look of scrutiny. Then she shook her hair back and reshouldered her bag. "Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey all! Happy Monday! I hope you liked this chapter, and even if you didn't please feel free to drop a review, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Up next: rounds with mysterious Slytherin Gemma, a late night in the Astronomy Tower, and maybe even a snowball fight? Stay tuned!**


	10. Prudence, Past and Present

**Disclaimer: Everything your recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>It was so dark that the black infinity before me took control over all my senses. I could hear it, smell it, taste it…I could almost touch it. The air was thick with humidity, and the mist settled heavily over my skin. I tried blinking to clear my eyes, but my vision only worsened. Everything was silent as my feet molded into the damp, mossy ground. My heart pounded in my chest, slamming into my rib cage so harshly I was certain there would be bruises. <em>

"_Lumos," I whispered as loudly as I dared, extending my arm in front of me. A quick survey showed I was surrounded by tall hedges on all sides. A maze. I was in a maze. _

_I walked forward slowly, my steps measured so as not to attract any attention to myself. I heard a whimpering from the other side of the brush, but every time I attempted to look through, the branches grew thicker and thicker until finally I gave up. _

"_Please…" someone moaned. The sound seemed to be some sort of cue; in a matter of seconds, the fog lifted, and I gasped aloud as I took in the sight that lay ahead._

_Cedric was on his hands knees, his face pale and covered in blood, sweat, and dirt. A cloaked wizard stood above him, his face obscured by a mask made of twisted, molten silver that gleamed against the wandlight, casting a shadow over Cedric's hunched form. _

"_Please," he begged again. His eyes were filled with fear, and his entire body shook with the effort to keep from collapsing._

_I was standing right in front of them, but they appeared not to notice me. "Cedric?"_

_He didn't answer, just stared helplessly right through me. "CEDRIC!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, the shout echoing in my ears and enveloping the silence._

_Neither wizard stirred. _

"_What shall I do with you, boy?" the masked man breathed, his wand pressed into Cedric's temple._

_Cedric swallowed, attempting to sit up, only to be forced downwards so that his lips touched the grass. _

_I needed to get out of here, I needed to-_

"_AVADA KEDAVRA!"_

"_NOOOOOOOO!" I slammed my eyes shut, willing myself away. After a moment of silence, I opened them. No longer was I in the maze, listening to Cedric's terrified pleas, but in a cold, dark room. It was small, about the size of my dormitory, and smelled of dust and mold. _

_My heart constricting in fear, I forced myself to light my wand, whirling around in a circle to ensure nothing was lurking in the shadows. Once I saw that I was alone, I relaxed slightly and, raising a clammy hand to my brow, pushed my hair out of my eyes. _

_Then I blinked, and a woman was sitting in a chair, slowly rocking back and forth. I recognize her immediately. My hand reached up and clamped around the small, silver locket that hung from my neck._

"…_mum?" My voice sounded small. _

_The woman did not react. Godric, she was beautiful. Her hair was thick and shiny, her face full, her lips pulled into a faint smile. Suddenly, she turned, and her eyes, dark and wide, just like mine, found me in the wandlight. _

"_Hello, dear," she said softly. "Come closer."_

"_Mum is it…is it really you?" Hardly daring to believe it, I took one step forward. I was afraid that if I made any abrupt movements, she would disappear. _

_She laughed, a beautiful, melodic laugh, and I found myself grinning. "It's really me." There was a pause. Then, "you must have so many questions."_

_I moved closer. "I do. Mum I – people say there's another war coming, like before, a friend of mine was killed, and there's this Ministry worker-"_

_She raised a hand and I fell silent, the words dying on my tongue. "You've been so brave."_

"_Brave?" I laughed. "I-I'm scared of __**everything**__. I hate heights, the dark, small spaces, spiders, big dogs, the ocean. Even some people terrify me."_

_Her head tilted sideways, and her hair spilled over the arm rest of the rocking chair. "Fear is a trait of the courageous. All those who fear know what's out there and choose to live in spite of it. You're much stronger than you know. You have to use it."_

"_Use it? So it's true, you think there will be another-"_

_Before I could finish my sentence, her eyes went glassy and her mouth flew open, a piercing, almost unearthly wail protruding from her lips. My hands flew to my ears and I fell to the floor. "MUM! MUM, WHAT'S WRONG? MUM!"_

"_STOP, I BEG OF YOU, STOP! STOP THIS, STOP IT, PLEASE!" she sobbed, and her body began to convulse. She slipped from the chair so she lay directly in my line of vision, her beautiful hair now soiled by the dust and grime. "HELP ME, HELP ME FRANK, ALICE, PLEASE!"_

_I was crying now, the tears slipping down my nose and my throat clogging with the screams that I refused to release. "Mum, I'm here, I'm here Mum, please calm down, please!"_

_Another blink, and the scene shifted. Cedric lay in front of me, cold and unmoving, his eyes dull and his body stiff. _

_I fought the urge to retch and instead crawled forward. "C-Cedric?"_

_My wand nearly slipped from my grasp as I extended it. Ever so carefully, I moved the light from its tip towards the body on the ground. Those were his trainers all right, his pants, his jersey…_

_With a gasp, I fell backwards, dropping the wand. It rolled into a corner, plunging the room into darkness. I could've sworn…when I'd looked at his face…it had been-it had been George. _

_I dug my hands into my eyes furiously, blinking over and over again. "Wake up Prudence, wake up, come on, WAKE UP!"_

With a start, I flew back to the present. It was okay, everything was okay. That wasn't real. It was just a dream. A really, really bad dream. Panting, I released my fingers' stronghold on the sheets. The room was still and quiet, the only sound the steady breathing of Grace and Noel. As my eyes adjusted, I peered out of a small gap in my curtains; the moon was high in the sky, casting a pale glow across the scuffed floor.

From the way my body was shivering, I was apparently still being tormented by the nightmare. Though I had been having more and more dreams about Cedric lately, I hadn't _ever _had one about my mother, and this was the first time that George had made an appearance. I wondered what it all meant. I'd never really bought into the art of divination, but I'd have given anything for some information on dreams and the psyche. Perhaps the library…

With a shake of my head, I forced my thoughts away from the visions of Cedric and my mother. Had it really only been a few hours since the DA meeting had ended? I felt like the dream had pulled me all the way into next week.

When I'd shown up tonight with Noel, it had been fairly awkward. I'd been dreading the reaction, because I hated it when the focus was on me, and sure enough everyone stared. Lee, of course, had taken it in stride, happily snatching her up as a partner and showing her the ropes. Thankfully, no one had asked questions; after another moment we were practicing disarming our opponents as well as other spells such as 'diffindo' on dummies and targets.

George's sister Ginny turned out to be the best at the severing charm; she'd completely obliterated one of the test dummies, and the force of it blew everyone's hair back. Ron's face had been priceless. He'd been going on to Dean and Neville about how she wouldn't be able to do it, because no one else had done it yet, and she couldn't be the first.

Ron irritated me. I didn't really know him, and obviously he wouldn't be friends with Harry and Hermione if he was as cruel as I thought, but the few times I'd been around him I'd heard only obnoxious and judgmental comments. It especially annoyed me that he was so worried about his own self-confidence that he had to cast some of the shadow onto Ginny, who everyone knew was an extraordinary witch. Her Bat-Bogey hexes were downright terrifying.

The more I thought about it though…all the Weasleys had something extraordinary about them. Bill Weasley, whom I'd never gone to school with but knew much thanks to his shelf in the Trophy Room, had been a prefect and Head Boy during his time at Hogwarts. Professors still talked about him, and the prefects always aspired to best his legacy, which was still going strong after nearly six years.

Charlie had been the Gyffindor quidditch captain, and an amazing seeker. Some people claimed he could have gone on to play professionally, that he'd even been scouted during his time here. He shocked everyone by going to Romania to work with dragons, but that only added to his mysterious aura and showed his range as a wizard.

Then there was Percy. He'd graduated two years ago, the first year I was a prefect, and though he'd driven me absolutely crazy, there was no denying his brilliance and determination. I had no doubt that he would do whatever it took to secure himself a well-paying Ministry job. In fact, he was probably already well on his way.

The twins were… The twins were special. I'd never known anyone like them. Of course they were much about fun and games, but they were very capable wizards. While working on their products, they performed spells non-verbally that we had never learned in classes, spells I had never even heard of. They were everyone's friend. They understood the value of family and friendship more than almost anyone. I was so glad I was getting to know them, which is something I never would have said in a million years while Cedric was still around.

Last of the Weasley boys was Ron. Other than the fact that he got into a lot of trouble with Harry, all I knew was that he was insensitive and not too bright. He had a huge chip on his shoulder, probably ingrained with the letters B, C, P, F, and G. Might as well throw a couple of H's in there for good measure too. Even still…the way he'd spoken about me when I'd shown up to the first meeting made a small lick of anger ignite in my stomach.

With a sigh, I rolled over and squeezed my eyes shut tight, but I knew sleep would not come. I had the Weasleys on my mind, and, more specifically, George.

* * *

><p>"There she is!" Fred cried when I made my way into McGonagall's classroom that afternoon.<p>

I managed a small smile as I settled into my seat beside him with a yawn. "How are you?"

George wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Apparently better than you. Everything okay, love?"

I'd been a no-show at breakfast this morning. All night the images of my mother plagued me, until finally, around dawn, I'd dressed and slipped out of the dormitory without Grace or Noel so much as stirring. I'd waited outside of Sprout's office for nearly an hour when she finally showed up with an armful of Mimbulus Mimbletonium that needed some "TLC."

After fidgeting around in the small, earthy room for ten minutes, I had finally worked up the courage to ask her the question that had been on my mind for years. I'd asked her what happened to my mother.

To say Professor Sprout was surprised would be an understatement. With her bushy eyebrows and large brown eyes, she already had the look of constant shock mastered, but she truly looked taken aback.

"_I can't say I haven't been expecting something like this…I wondered all these years…but of course I figured you would go speak with Minerva – I mean, Professor McGonagall about this, not me," Sprout said._

"_McGonagall? Why?" _

_She gave me a look – it was a mixture of pity and sadness – and said, "because she was her Head of House of course, and her favorite student."_

Blinking, I drew away from George. "I'm fine. I just need to speak with McGonagall after class, so don't wait for me. Even Umbridge can't complain if I've a signed note from another professor, right?"

Noel snapped her compact mirror closed. "Why in the name of Merlin's beard do you need to talk to McGonagall?"

"Just about an assignment, okay?" I responded testily, dropping my bag onto the ground.

Fred made hissing noises like a cat and Lee feigned scratching the air with his hand in the shape of a claw, but I ignored them. It was clear that I was in a foul mood, and in no shape to respond to their jibes.

All throughout class George tried to cheer me up. He placed amusing drawings on my desk, whispered jokes in my ear, even vanished Miles Bletchley's chair at one point, resulting in a detention for him and five points from Gryffindor, but still I couldn't shake the irritation that lay beneath my skin. Why was it that when I finally went looking for answers, I only received more questions?

I don't know why I had never asked any of the teachers about my mother before, because of course they taught her. It wasn't so long ago that she was a student here. But why hadn't any of _them _sought _me_ out? No one had ever so much as told me I looked like her, let alone that she'd been favorited. My mother, McGonagall's top pick…

McGonagall was a professor who was fair, and if she had favorites she most certainly didn't show it. She had a soft spot for Harry, that was definitive, but she punished him for things just the same. Still…my mother was in the same boat as Harry on this one. It must be a small group, McGonagall's favorites.

But all the professors knew who my mother was; every student had a record with the school, which included immediate family. They all knew what happened to her, but no one ever spoke of it. None of them had so much as hinted that I was anything like her. Of course, I wasn't. She was a Gryffindor, so brave and beautiful. She had been an auror, probably one of the best of the department. Me, I was scared of my own shadow, and had gone six years with only one friend.

I remained glued to my seat as the bell rang, ignoring George's backward glances, and instead focused on the aging witch in front of me.

"Can I assist you with something, Miss Turner?" McGonagall looked at me from over the rims of her glasses.

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to hold eye contact. "Yes, actually. I was wondering if you could tell me about my mother, Natalia Dupre."

If McGonagall was surprised like Professor Sprout, she didn't show it. "You do realize, Miss Turner, that I can only tell you about her school days. I think, perhaps, if there's other information you seek, I'd better set up an appointment with the Headmaster."

"Professor Dumbledore? Really?" My heart beat faster just thinking about it. Did he know about the night of the raid? Did he know how it happened? Who had done it? Who had cast the spell?

She gave a curt nod. "Yes. I will send word when I can confirm the meeting. For now, why don't you stop by my office after classes are over. And here, take this to Professor Umbridge. I dare say she'd be upset if you showed up without a note."

There was a faint look of sourness on her face, and with a secretive grin, I thanked her and left for the fifth floor.

* * *

><p>"I hate that woman more and more every day!" I stormed out of the DADA classroom an hour later, stomping down the corridor. A small cluster of Ravenclaws scattered as I moved past them, my arms swinging furiously.<p>

"Oi, Turner! You left half your things behind!" George called, chasing after me. He caught up as I rounded the corner, unfortunately making it onto the stairs before they began to change. Normally I would be stuck to the railing, to afraid to move, as I still hadn't gotten used to them after all these years, but I was too mad to care.

With a sigh, I accepted my parchment, book, and quill from him. "Thanks. I just can't believe she docked 5 points from Hufflepuff. I had a _signed _note from McGonagall explaining my tardiness! She's an evil, vindictive, malicious toad!"

"You know, I've never seen you this angry," he remarked casually, leaning against the bannister as the staircase slowly connected to the floor below.

Pinching the bridge of my nose in exasperation, I stepped onto the small platform. "Well now we're even. You did just beat the sod out of Malfoy three days ago."

George flexed his left hand, making the scars stand out against his pale skin. "Don't remind me."

"Okay, I won't. Look, I've got to go meet with McGonagall – _not _about Umbridge – and I'll probably be eating dinner in the kitchens, so see you in the Astronomy Tower at 9?" I asked, walking backwards.

He waved me off, no doubt headed off to a detention, and I made my way back to McGonagall's classroom. Her class of fourth years was just being dismissed as I arrived, and I offered Luna and Ginny both a nod as I moved past them into the office.

"Professor?" I called with a knock on the door.

She glanced up from the stack of papers she was sifting through. "Ah, yes. Come in, Miss Turner. Have a biscuit."

Slightly startled, I reached into the proferred tin and took out a small, ginger cookie. "Thank you."

"Now." McGonagall sat back squarely in her chair, eyeing me with such conviction that the cookie sat still in my hand. I didn't dare eat it when I was being watched so closely. "Your mother was a fine student, Miss Turner, one of her year's best."

"Was she a prefect, like me?" I asked, somewhat shyly.

"She was," McGonagall nodded. "I recommended her to the Headmaster for the position of Head Girl as well, but he decided, in the end, to go with Marinella Smedgewick."

We sat quietly for a moment as I tried to formulate another question.

McGonagall broke the silence. "What exactly do you know about your mother, Miss Turner?"

"Erm…" I squirmed slightly under her gaze. The ginger coating on the biscuit was sticking to my clammy hand. "Well, I know she was a Gryffindor. And you just said she was a prefect. She became an auror after graduation, and went on a raid one night in 1981 when I was three. She came back...different. I also know that she used to ice skate, and that she was, er, really good at doing her hair," I finished weakly.

There was another pause as she observed me. "Your mother was one of the best students I ever taught. She was quick. She learned fast and worked intelligently. Nearly everyone liked her; she even had several acquaintances in Slytherin House, which as I'm sure you know is very rare, especially in a time of war."

"Her friends…who were her friends?" I asked.

"Let's see…the closest to her I think was Amelia Bones. She was a Hufflepuff, but the two were always together. They even liked to pin their hair up the same. From the back you couldn't tell who was who." McGonagall's eyes went slightly glassy as she thought back twenty years. "She was also close with two twins, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, who unfortunately both perished in the war."

I allowed the information to sink in. So my mother was best friends with someone from my house…and also with two boys who were twins? I was much more similar to her than I thought. "Did she by any chance like to read? We've got tons of books at home, but most of them belong to my father."

At the mention of him, I drew my left wrist closer to my body.

"Oh, yes. It was the only thing she ever got in trouble for. She would switch the covers between her textbooks and her library books and would read during class. I remember in her third year it was particularly hard to tear her away from a Muggle book by an author called Lee Harper."

"To Kill a Mockingbird?" I breathed. The biscuit had been reduced to crumbs in my palm.

She nodded slowly. "That's the one. An excellent read, if I do say so myself. Now, is there anything else you wish to know?"

I shook my head vigorously. "No, thank you, that was – that was very helpful. Thank you," I repeated, rising from my chair and shutting the door behind me.

As quickly as I could, I walked to the library, making a beeline for the genealogy section. It took Madame Pince nearly ten minutes to sign everything out; she did everything by hand when a simple spell would do, and was so old that her hands shook too much for her to write steadily.

Finally, with the three books in my grasp, I barreled out of the library and into the kitchens, where I set everything down onto a table in the corner. I picked up the thickest book, assuming it would have the most information, and blew the dust off the cover.

Immediately I skipped to the index. My finger trailed down the page. "Prewett, Prewett…" I whispered to myself. "Aha!"

I glanced up briefly to thank the house elf who placed a butterbeer in front of me, then turned eagerly to page 789.

_The Prewetts are a predominantly known pureblood family from the northern side of England. They are one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight (see page 103). Known members of the 20__th__ century are Mr. and Mrs. Ignatius Prewett, their three children, twins Fabian, Gideon, and daughter Molly, sister Muriel, and cousin Bilius. _

_The Prewett family has become extinct in the male line with the deaths of both Fabian and Gideon during the Great Wizarding War, but is continued on through Molly Weasley neé Prewett (642)._

My hands gripped the table so hard that my knuckles began to turn white, and 'I must not disrupt the class' popped out against my nearly translucent skin. My mother had been best friends with George's uncles.

Fabian and Gideon… I flipped to the next page so enthusiastically that I nearly tore it, and I had to remind myself to be careful.

_Fabian and Gideon Prewett were both killed in March of 1981, during an attempted take down of a known Death Eater hideout. Both were prominent members of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization created by Albus Dumbledore (395) that was aimed towards defeating He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers. _

I slammed the book closed, startling several of the nearby house elves. Blushing, I apologized, and sat staring into the fire while I gathered my thoughts. My mother had three best friends, all of whom she met at Hogwarts. Two of them had been in the Order of the Phoenix, and had perished around the same time she had become incapacitated. Did that mean that my mother had also been in the Order? That she'd lost her mind the same time she lost her best friends? She was McGonagall's favorite student…was she one of Dumbledore's? He must have known her personally. Would he tell me what he knew?

If Dumbledore was so adamant that You-Know-Who was back, did that mean the Order was back as well? Was he looking for people to join? Was there anyone from the original Order left?

A look at the clock told me it was nearly time for my rounds with Gemma, but I longed to delve deeper into the books. I wanted to see if my mother was in there, if she was in the Order too, I wanted to read about Amelia Bones…I wanted to know everything.

Reluctantly, I placed the books carefully into my satchel and headed out of the kitchens and into the Entrance Hall. Happily, I noted that Gemma was not yet there, and I once again dragged the book out, skimming through it to the 'D' section.

"Duncan, Dunham…" I muttered to myself. Frowning, I flipped the page. "Durant, Duval, Dwerryhouse."

She wasn't in there.

"Why so glum, sugarplum?"

Gemma Farley was walking, no, strutting, towards me. She, like Noel, found it appropriate to wear high heels with her uniform, and somehow managed to walk smoothly across the uneven stone flooring. Her dark hair was slicked back into a high ponytail that swung behind her, and her robes were velvet with silver trim. They were obviously expensive, and tailored to fit her body perfectly.

I shifted uncomfortably as I tucked the genealogy book away. My robes had long since disappeared into my bag, leaving me in my lint-covered sweater, wrinkled oxford skirt, and tweed skirt. My hair was probably frizzy and bedraggled, and the zit that I had covered up with a dab of foundation that morning had more than likely evaporated as the day had passed. I felt incredibly inadequate.

"Do you always ignore someone when they ask you a question?" she asked with a raised brow.

"No, sorry, I was just doing some, erm, light reading." Cheeks flushed, both from my lie and from my embarrassment, I led the way up the staircase, eager to get out of the bright lighting.

After a moment, I could hear her footsteps behind me, accentuated by her heels. "So, you're Prudence Turner, right?"

I wiped my clammy hands on my skirt before looking at her. "That would be me."

"And you're a half-blood?"

"What if I told you I was a filthy Mudblood?" I asked sharply.

Gemma blinked and held up her hands in surrender. "Look, I wasn't asking like that, okay? Malfoy was talking about your mother the other day, and I was just curious."

"Are your parents Death Eaters?" She had the grace to slightly shamed as I eyed her coldly.

"I realize how terrible that question sounded," Gemma admitted. "Sorry."

I chewed my lip. "It's okay," I said after a small pause.

We walked for a while, patrolling the corridors of the third and fourth floors to the best of our abilities with little talk between us. "I'm half too, you know," she spoke conversationally. I was startled by the sound of her voice; I'd quite gotten used to hearing only the clacking of her heels.

"Really?" I hadn't heard of very many half-blood Slytherins; of course there were probably very many, as purebloods were dying out, but no one ever went around admitting it. "Mum or dad?"

"My dad," she admitted. "But he could give a sod about all this bloodline shit. He runs an independent robeswear store out of France. Does all the Beauxbatons uniforms."

Well, this certainly explained her fancy robes. "So do you live in France, then?"

"Oui, mon Cherie." Her tone was bitter.

"You don't like it there?" I asked, but she held up a hand.

With an eye roll that reminded me of Noel, she blasted open the door to a broom closet. Inside were Grace and Martin, who were locked in a smothering sort of embrace. They looked like two snakes trying to mate.

Gemma glanced to me. "What do you think, ten points each?"

"Sounds fair," I agreed casually. I didn't even care that it was my own house; I was too disturbed.

Grace touched up her smudged lipstick. "So first you claim to be Dumbledore's little warrior, now you're running around with Slytherin scum and docking points from your own house? You don't know anything except how to be a traitor, it seems."

"Grace-" Martin started, but Gemma cut him off.

"This 'Slytherin scum' is a prefect, much higher up in class ranking than you. Same goes for Prudence here; I really don't think you're in any position to judge. Your biggest accomplishment to this school is the number of boys you've turned to men in broom closets and empty classrooms. Hey, that could go on your resume for your cushy Ministry job! I'm sure Umbridge would love to endorse that," she said in a sickly sweet tone.

My lips twitched as Grace stepped forward. She was at least three inches shorter than the Slytherin, but most certainly wasn't afraid. "You're nothing but a hag, Farley. You're just jealous because none of the guys here will touch you. Your own house won't come near you because they think your blood's too dirty, and everyone else avoids you at all costs because of how proudly you wear the color green," Grace breathed.

My jaw dropped open. I'd known Grace was vain, catty, and rude, but this was just…this was cruel.

"You'd best clear off before I report you and dock more points," was all Gemma said, her voice quiet. Her confident demeanor was disappearing fast.

With a satisfied smirk, Grace stepped back, straightened out her shirt, and turned on her heel, sashaying down the corridor. With an apologetic shrug, Martin followed after her, and I kept a cold glare trained on their backs until they rounded the corner.

"Are you okay?" I asked, somewhat awkwardly. I never knew what to do in these situations, though I felt I should say something.

"I'm fine," she said with a faux smile. Her eyes were sad. "I hear things like that on a daily basis."

I had no choice but to head after her, as she had already begun stalking down the hall to finish our route. "It's not true, you know. Your blood isn't dirty and I know there are tons of guys here who would love to date you."

"Name one that would actually want to "date" me. I know there are plenty who would shag me; I know even more who would shag me and then spit on me for being a filthy half-breed."

My stomach contracted in guilt. I'd never spoken to Gemma prior to this year, and we'd been prefects together this entire time. I had noticed her sitting quietly by herself in meetings, not speaking to Montague, Malfoy, Greengrass, or any of the other Slytherin prefects, and I had also noticed the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors giving her the cold shoulder time and time again. I'd done nothing, said nothing.

I don't know what made me say it, but I just knew I wanted to take her mind off of the confrontation. "My mother was a Gryffindor, you know. She had friends in Slytherin."

Gemma turned around in surprise. "Wait, really? But this must've been…what? The late seventies? That was the height of the war."

"I know. McGonagall just told me today, actually. You're the first person I've told about it," I admitted timidly.

Her dark eyes scanned my face for a moment. "You're all right, Turner. One of the only decent people I've come across in seventeen years."

"You can't have met many people then." Shyly, I glanced sideways at her as we took the main staircase back down to the ground floor.

"Thing is, I have," she replied, and I trailed after her in silence, the echo from her shoes filling the quiet of the night.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello everyone! I hope you liked the lastest installment of Prudence and co., and hope you all had a marvelous weekend! Sorry for the wait, school's been hectic, but as of this Friday I will be off a week for Spring Break, so expect updates! Up next: a meeting with the Headmaster, a late night rendezvous, secrets are revealed, and what's this? A snowball fight? Stay tuned!**


	11. The Truth

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Fred, if you try and look at my star chart one more time, I'm going to glue you to the outside of this tower," I threatened from behind my telescope.<p>

"How can you even see me?" he exclaimed, skulking back over to his own work.

Lee roared with laughter, and I peered down at his parchment. "You realize Venus won't be in view for another six months, right?"

Now it was George's turn to gloat; unfortunately, everything he had written down was correct.

"So," Fred tried again. "How were your rounds with that Slytherin? Better or worse than it would have been with Kenneth, do you reckon?"

I scowled. "'That Slytherin' is named Gemma, and I'll have you know she's actually very friendly."

Lee snorted. "A Slytherin, friendly? Right."

"And just how many Slytherins have you had actual conversations with?" I rounded on him, hands on my hips.

"Are you sure she hasn't met our mother?" I heard George whisper to Fred, but I ignored them.

With a shake of his head, Lee set down his chart. "Prudence, you don't get it. You don't have to talk to them to know they're nasty. Rotten to the core, the lot of them. Raised by Death Eaters. Their brains are molded to the agenda of seriously evil wizards."

I was shaking with fury, but tried to remain calm lest jokes about my sanity came about. "Not every Slytherin was raised under a Death Eater. They're not all evil, just like not all Gryffindors are good. There have been students from Gryffindor house who have gone on to do very questionable things, and we all know it."

"Just be careful is all I'm saying," Lee cautioned, despite George's gestures for him to stop.

"Gemma's a half-blood, and her father owns a robeswear shop; that's hardly grounds for calling her evil. Besides, my mother was a Gryffindor, and she was friends with Slytherins in a time of the war." I tossed my hair back in a Noel-esque fashion.

"Prudence, we're in a time of war too," George said quietly.

I turned back to my telescope. "Then shouldn't we be standing together?"

* * *

><p>November passed slowly. Due to an increase of quidditch practices – mainly the Gryffindors, who had to try out three new players and rebuild their team – there had been no more DA meetings, and Noel was anxious for more.<p>

"I just want to learn more spells to use on Umbridge when I graduate! She won't be able to punish me!" she would say innocently with a bat of her eyes. I could see Lee's lovesick expression in my mind.

Grace had been even more insufferable as of late. She had finally ensnared Martin in her master plan to stick it to Noel, but her plan backfired. Noel had stopped being interested in the quidditch captain long ago, and now Grace was stuck in a relationship with someone whose idea of a good time was getting plastered and spouting off quidditch statistics.

"For you, Prudence," came from behind me, and I turned around at the Gryffindor table to see Luna holding out a scroll for me.

"Hi Luna, thanks!" I took the parchment from her, examining a strand of corks hanging down her robes. "Er, cool necklace."

Lee choked on his eggs, and Noel thumped him on the back with a roll of her eyes. "Ooh, thank you. I collect the bottles too!" she said brightly, and wandered away.

"Loony, that one," George said with a shake of his head.

I returned to my newspaper. "I like her. She's sweet."

Fred slurped his pumpkin juice, and Angelina gave him a look of disgust from down the table. "First a Slytherin, now Loony Lovegood? Are we not good enough for you, Prudence?"

"If someone makes another mention about who I choose to speak with, they will find this sausage up one or both nostrils, I haven't yet decided," I grumbled, rustling my paper and putting it up in front of my face.

"We just miss you is all!" George said, charming the Prophet to be translucent so I could see his face. He waggled his brows.

Lee tore his attention away from Noel, who was scrawling hastily on a roll of parchment like her life depended on it. "Yeah, you haven't tested any products in weeks. What have you been doing, hanging out in the dungeons?"

"Do you lot even _care _about things that exist outside of your little sphere of oblivion? Look at this paper! It has an entire article praising Umbridge for what she's been doing here! And now they're trying to get Harry's case reopened," I remarked, smoothing it down on the table in front of me.

"What?!"

Ron, who was sitting several seats down, knocked his ketchup-covered knife off the table, where it went skidding along the floor until it reached the feet of a tiny Ravenclaw.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly Ronald, it's a miracle you haven't seriously hurt someone. And if you'd been listening to me when I told you about that article ten minutes ago instead of stuffing your face, you wouldn't be so surprised."

"Is that why Harry's not here?" he asked thickly, swallowing the mass amount of food in his mouth.

"Oh for Pete's sake," I muttered under my breath.

George raised a brow. "Are you having issues with my brother?"

Flushing, I took a long sip of my tea. "Absolutely not."

"It's okay, he irritates us too!" Fred said, to which Ron responded with a very rude hand gesture.

George leaned in. "Hey, with six siblings, you can't like them all."

"Who else don't you like?" I asked in interest.

The duo exchanged a dark glance. "We don't speak of Percy the Puffheaded Piss-stain," Fred answered.

Even Noel glanced up at this. "Christ, he must have done something bad for the two of you to be this upset about it."

"He believes Fudge," Lee explained, while the twins were still glaring down at their plates.

Huh. I hadn't known that, although with Percy's love for authority I suppose I should have gathered. And since Fred and George had the utmost faith in Harry, it was clear what choice they would make. Wow. I wondered what it must have been like when this all came to fruition. If I had a sibling, I couldn't imagine what I would've done if he or she suddenly abandoned me.

"Who's that scroll from?" Noel asked, and I looked down at it in shock.

"Oh, I don't know…" I murmured, hastily opening it.

_Miss Turner,_

_Professor McGonagall has informed me of your conversation, and it is my wish that you should meet me tonight at 8 o'clock in my office, if that is convenient for you._

_Yours most sincerely, _

_Albus Dumbledore_

_P.S. I enjoy Fudge Flies_

George, who had been reading nosily over my shoulder, blinked. "Dumbledore requested a meeting with you? He's never even done that for us!"

"Yeah, and we've broken more school rules than everyone else here combined!" Fred pouted indignantly.

"Some things are more important than pranks," I reminded them tersely, tucking the scroll and paper away in my satchel. "Come on Lee, it's potions today."

* * *

><p>I was so completely distracted in Snape's class that I added lacewing flies before I stirred clockwise three times, and the Saliva-Inducing Solution I was brewing became so thick that it congealed heavily in the cauldron.<p>

"No, no, no!" I moaned to myself, hastily dragging my book towards me to see if there were any instructions on how to fix it.

Biting on my lips, I stared at the unicorn horn shavings in front of me. They were typically used for thinning out potions, because their magical properties were so concentrated…perhaps…

Furtively looking around, I dumped a small scoop into my cauldron. I waited anxiously, until a small bubble expanded and popped. Suddenly, all the air in it seemed to evaporate, and I was left with a soup-like brew.

I let out the breath I hadn't known I was holding, and continued down the ingredients list, double checking every instruction three times. When the bell rang, I corked a small vial of my solution and brought it up to Snape's desk for grading.

He observed it for a moment. "This looks much more potent…did you add an extra item? Perhaps a shrivelfig, or boomslang skin?"

"No Sir…I added my lacewing flies too early and I needed to thin it out so I-I put in some unicorn horn shavings." I said this all in one breath, cringing slightly at the end.

His obsidian eyes glittered maliciously. "If you had even the slightest clue what the theorem behind this particular potion was, you would know that any added ingredient would, instead of creating saliva, suck out all the bodily fluids, effectively killing the taker. You'll be receiving a Dreadful."

A Dreadful? I'd never gotten anything below an Acceptable in my entire life! "Sir, please. If I brew this again, tonight, and bring it to you tomorrow, will you consider raising my grade one letter?"

Montague snorted loudly from behind me, and Martin gave me a pitying look.

"I do not take late assignments for any type of grading. However, if you would find it…prudent…you may bring a new solution to me by tomorrow morning and I will take it into consideration for your overall classroom average," he said finally.

My eyes widened in disbelief. "Yes, yes, thank you Professor!"

Before he could change his mind, I grabbed my satchel, shouldered it, and walked quickly from the room, feeling oddly triumphant.

* * *

><p>"Prudence, for Merlin's sake just go to your meeting!" Noel exclaimed as I sighed and tossed my book down for the tenth time.<p>

I'd gone to the library after classes and found myself completely incapable of concentrating on work. After an hour of staring at my textbooks blankly, I'd gone to the kitchens for some tea to help calm my nerves. When that hadn't worked, I'd tried to have an in-depth conversation about the differences between wizard magic and elf magic with a house elf named Dobby, who was strangely enough wearing socks over his ears.

When that had also failed to decrease my anxiety, I'd returned to my room, where I'd wandered around in circles until Noel had gotten so irritated that she offered to teach me beauty techniques. Figuring that this would hold my attention due to the fact that it was something I knew nothing about, I had agreed. After stabbing myself in the eye several times and I'd been forced to apply a sticky glue to my skin which had left it with a slightly orange tinge, I'd put an end to the session and begun to read one of the books about genealogy from the library, but even this failed to pique my interest.

"I'm sorry, but I've never had a personal conversation with the Headmaster before!" I snapped, digging the heels of my hands into my eyes in frustration.

I'd only ever seen Professor Dumbledore in the Great Hall at meal times. He didn't exactly walk around looking in on our classes. He was the greatest sorcerer of all time – he'd accomplished more than 90% of the wizarding population by the time he graduated Hogwarts. He had obligations that kept him locked up in his office. I suspected he was often away from the school as well, tending to matters that far surpassed the duties of school leader.

Then there was something to be said for the content of our conversation. He wouldn't be meeting with me if he didn't have anything to say, right? So that meant that he knew something about my mother. A shiver ran down my spine and with a jolt, I stood.

"Okay, I'm going to go." My voice was terse and my fingers shook.

"Prudence, relax. He's Dumbledore, not an axe murderer," Noel said drily, blowing on her freshly painted nail. She spent more time putting polish on than studying, and still she got the same grades as me.

Straightening out my collar, I nodded. "Right."

I'd had to ask Harry Potter where Dumbledore's office was when I'd seen him as classes let out earlier today. I supposed its location wasn't really a secret, but only those who had been there knew where it was, and until now I'd never had a reason to seek out the Headmaster.

It was a relatively short walk, as it was only on the second floor, and I followed Harry's instructions until I came across a grotesque looking gargoyle, whose spiked tail, though made of stone, looked like it was ready to lash out should I attempt to pass.

"Password?" it asked smoothly.

"Er-Fudge Flies." I had also asked Harry what Dumbledore's post scriptum meant, and had been told that was how he hinted what his password was. It was almost always a type of candy, apparently. Dumbledore was a strange man. A very brilliant, strange man.

The gargoyle sprung sideways as a spiral staircase began to rise right out of the floor. Timidly, I stepped on, and it took me to the top of a tower I had never known existed. Could I even see it from outside? With everything shaking, I reached out a pale knuckle and rapped on the door.

"Enter."

The door swung open, and I was overwhelmed by the surprising size of the room before me. It was circular, and full of things I had never seen before, at least not in person. There were hardly any real walls; they were mainly bookshelves, most of which had titles in languages I could not determine. It was cluttered with tables supported by strange, spindly legs that held tiny gadgets that made odd noises.

On the small stretches of wall that did not contain books, there were portraits of witches and wizards whom I assumed were previous Headmasters. Most of them were dozing off, nightcaps adorning their heads, but some were watching me. Goosebumps rose against my skin.

"Ah, Miss Turner. I am delighted that we finally have the chance to speak in person," Dumbledore said from his position behind a large desk that was covered in papers and books.

Noticing my gaze, he smiled. "It does get rather hectic running a school sometimes, I'm afraid."

"Yes sir, I would imagine so," I spoke, my voice quiet. I felt out of my element in a room where nothing quite seemed to have a place.

His sharp, blue eyes found mine. "Please, have a seat."

I followed his instructions and wiped my palms against my skirt. My throat felt scratchy.

There was a pause as he scrawled something on a slip of parchment. "Professor McGonagall informed me that you were seeking information about your mother."

"Yes sir, it's just that…" I froze. I couldn't tell him what had struck my research. If he knew I was breaking school rules, for a club we named _Dumbledore's Army, _which was completely insulting the entire Ministry, surely I'd be in trouble. "Well you see, I had a dream the other night."

"Oh?" he folded his hands neatly onto his desk. "I have found that dreams have often times led me quite astray. Once I dreamt that I would find the secret to immortality if I followed a house elf named Hanky to America. Of course, dreams can also be indicators of our futures. May I inquire as to what yours was about?"

Blinking, I wondered how much I should tell him. "Several nights ago, I dreamt about…about the Triwizard Tournament." He looked unsurprised, but said nothing, so I continued. "I saw Cedric Diggory. He was at the mercy of a wizard wearing a metal mask. They couldn't hear me, so I watched. Until- until the masked wizard killed him.

"As soon as that happened, everything changed, and I was in a room with my mother. It was dark, but I could tell it was her. She looked normal though. Nothing like she does now." I looked down at my lap.

"Did she say anything to you?" I glanced up quizzically. Surely he didn't know about my dream. He couldn't…right?

I had to force the words out. "She was telling me about how brave I was. She mentioned- Well Sir, I think she was speaking about another war. But there's not going to be another war, is there?"

We observed each other for a moment. "Miss Turner, I don't think you would have come to speak with me if you merely wanted to know about your mother."

One of the portraits sniffed and I jumped in my seat. "Professor Dumbledore, I know that you started an organization in the 1970s, one that fought the Death Eaters."

"I did, yes. Many, many years ago," he said sagely. He peered down at me over his crescent moon-shaped glasses.

I felt oddly like my brain was being examined. "I've read about it…many of the people who joined were aurors, or were affiliated with the auror department. And I found out that two of my mother's best friends from school, the Prewett boys, were in it, and they died around the same time that my mother was cursed."

He said nothing. "So…so…was my mother a part of your group? Did she fight against You-Know-Who? Is that how she ended up…losing her mind?"

"Voldemort's rise to power took many great witches and wizards before their times. Many Muggles as well. Those who were brave enough risked their lives every day to fight for justice, and an end to the stigma against the non-magical." Dumbledore sounded like a salesman, although his face showed weariness and exhaustion.

"Your mother was very brave. She was one of the finest witches to pass through this school. Which is why, when she came to me one night shortly after graduation, I extended an invitation to her to join my new society, the Order of the Phoenix."

He paused, probably to allow me to process his words. They settled over me like a blanket, thick and heavy. Of course I'd begun to suspect, but to hear it from Dumbledore himself was something entirely different. My mother had been so courageous. The epitome of Gryffindor House.

"Professor, in my dream, my mother was screaming for help. She yelled for two people in particular, Frank and Alice. I mean, I know it was only a dream, but were there any people in the Order of the Phoenix with those names?" I felt like I was grasping at straws.

"There were. They were aurors as well, though they were several years younger than your mother, and less experienced. One night shortly after the downfall of Voldemort, I received information of a Death Eater base on the outskirts of London, and when I brought this evidence to the Order the both of them volunteered immediately."

I edged forward on my chair slightly. Several of the witches and wizards were doing the same in their portraits. "Of course, being inexperienced, I was less than eager to send them into London alone, especially if this were to be a trap. I asked your mother to assist them. We gathered more knowledge and details for the next two days, but we were pressed for time and we had to move quickly, as more and more Death Eaters were going into hiding and we didn't want to lose our chance.

"The three of them made it into the building safely; we'd come to learn later that it was the home of a man named Bartemius Crouch, Junior. The man who had gathered this intelligence for us had done well, but even he could not have known about all of the protection charms that were placed on the inner rooms. You see, his home was like a maze, or a labyrinth."

My stomach churned. Perhaps the maze from my dream was not meant for Cedric. It may have been meant for my mother.

His eyes darkened slightly. "There came a room where the three became trapped upon entering, and it set off an alarm to all those who were living there. It was not Bartemius Crouch who found them, but another Death Eater, a woman by the name of Bellatrix Lestrange, and her husband Rodolphus."

"Oh my God…" I whispered. I fought back the bile that was rising in my throat.

"Bellatrix thought they might have information about her master. You see, she did not believe him to be dead. She wanted to find out what they knew, but in her eagerness, she overestimated the strength of the human psyche." Dumbledore stopped for a moment to assess me before continuing. "By the time the rest of the Order got there, it was too late. For all intents and purposes, their minds were gone."

My eyes squeezed tightly shut and I hunched over to prevent my nausea from overtaking me. "But Sir," I managed. "Sometimes, I mean only a few times, but it's happened – sometimes, she knows who I am. She's lucid."

"Yes…" Dumbledore trailed off, his gaze falling towards the left, where one of the small, silver devices gave off a puff of purple smoke. "Every person reacts to the Cruciatus Curse very differently. Your mother was a fighter by nature, and she may have been able to resist slightly longer than the Longbottoms. But I shouldn't like to get your hopes up; she may very well be like this forever."

I ignored his stern look, my brow furrowing. "The Longbottoms? Does that mean-"

"I am afraid, Miss Turner, that you are not the only student at this school who lost a parent that night."

The Headmaster suddenly looked very old. Dumbledore's collected exterior and serene smile typically made him look much younger, and had always made me feel safer, knowing that he wasn't worried. But right now, he looked like he'd lived through a thousand battles.

Neville. It all made sense now. How he always talked about his grandmother, but no one knew anything about his parents. His parents who had fought alongside my mother, essentially died alongside my mother. In the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's personal organization. Where were they now? But from the look on Dumbledore's face, I knew now was not the time to ask.

"Sir?" I spoke up, and he inclined his head. "If you started the Order of the Phoenix when You-Know-Who came to power, and now you say he's back, does that mean that you'll be starting another Order?"

He chuckled. "I think it's safe to say that there will always be witches and wizards willing to fight on the side of equality, yes."

I chewed on my lip. I clenched and unclenched my hands, the scars on my left hand stretching each time. A clock on the wall behind me ticked slowly as an elderly woman with a polka-dotted nightgown sniffed. "I'd like to join."

"Miss Turner, surely you must be aware that I cannot place the students of my school in such danger," he said, his voice unexpectedly firm.

"When I graduate then, like my mother," I said eagerly, looking him properly in the eye for the first time since I'd stepped foot in the office.

I expected him to say no. What would he want with a Hufflepuff who had barely spoken to anyone for six years and was scared of her own shadow? "If, after you graduate, you still find yourself wishing to follow in your mother's footsteps, then I should be glad to have you."

"Thank you, Sir." Surprised, I rose, straightening my skirt.

As I turned and headed for the door, he stopped me. "Miss Turner."

"Yes Professor?"

He was silent for a moment. "I would expect any member of the Order to be able to call Voldemort by his true identity. Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself."

I nodded. "Of course, Sir."

* * *

><p>I was the last one back into the dormitory that night. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, yanked on a pair of pajamas, and closed my hangings without a word to either of them. My mother had gone out fighting Death Eaters, next to Frank and Alice Longbottom. She'd been sent to protect them. She was brave, and a real leader. Maybe I could be one, too. My fingers clamped around the locket, and the steady beat of my heart soon matched my breathing as I drifted off to sleep.<p>

I woke up the next morning feeling oddly refreshed. I'd had my first nightmare-free sleep in weeks. I leapt out of bed and scrambled into the bathroom before Grace could claim it for two hours. I stopped and looked at myself in the mirror, and I was startled to see the resemblance between my reflection and the woman who had been in my dream.

I'd never gotten the chance to see my mother whole and healthy - I'd only seen her in photographs. I got most of my appearance from her, except for the freckles; those were my dad's, from the Welsh side of my family.

My hair had grown, and it cascaded down my back in dark waves. My eyes, a deep shade of hazel, looked back at me without the fear that had been living in my heart since the age of three. Knowing what had happened to my mother, knowing how and why, knowing that there had been people out there protecting the public and that she had been one of them…it was strangely liberating.

After I showered, I curled up on my bed with the genealogy book and stared at the family trees of the Prewett and Weasley families as I waited for Noel.

It was getting harder to deny the parallels between my mother's life at Hogwarts and my own. Her friends had been mixed between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. She had befriended two redheaded twins who happened to be Fred and George's uncles. She was a prefect. Her favorite book was my own, To Kill a Mockingbird, and she'd gotten in trouble for reading it in class. She'd even been friendly with some Slytherins, and the other night I had found myself enamored with Gemma.

"Are you ready to go? I'm starving," Noel announced as she pulled back my curtains.

I slid the book into my satchel and stuck my feet into my shoes. "I've been waiting for you for thirty minutes you bint."

"Someone's sassy this morning," she replied with an eye roll, and we set off for the Great Hall.

We were surpassed by a cluster of younger Hufflepuffs on our way through the Entrance Hall. "It's snowing!" one of them cried, and upon passing through the doorway and looking up at the enchanted ceiling, it appeared he was right.

"Phwoar, there must've been a blizzard overnight." Noel looked disenchanted at her words.

With a shrug, I walked over to where Lee and the twins were already digging into breakfast, and I snagged a cube of melon off of George's plate. "Anyone up for a snowball fight?"

"Hello? Prudence? Are you in there?" Fred made a big show out of knocking on my head and yelling into my ear. Noel snorted into her porridge.

"Oh shut up," I said, shoving him towards Lee. "It's a Saturday, and it's the first snow of the season. I love the snow."

Cedric and I had once taken a walk in the snow, in our fifth year. I'd dared him to walk out onto the frozen lake; of course he'd done it.

"If it's a snowball fight you want, then a snowball fight you shall have," George declared gallantly.

"Count me out," Noel drawled.

Lee looked alarmed. "No, you have to go!"

All three of us stared at him. "Why?" Noel asked slowly.

"Because we can't have Prudence all by herself on a team, can we?"

George raised a brow. "I was going to be on Prudence's team."

"See? It's all settled," Noel declared, returning to her breakfast.

"_No, _it's not. Everyone knows it's supposed to be boys against girls in snowball fights." Lee folded his arms across his chest and nodded confidently.

At this, both Fred and George exchanged a glance and leaned in close to their friend. "Lee, mate," Fred started.

"You really need to get laid!" George finished, and the duo high-fived over Lee's head.

With a sigh, I set my spoon down. "Noel, you're coming. Lee, stop acting weird. Fred and George, please stop celebrating like you've accomplished something, your eggs are about to run off your plates."

"You're so bossy this morning," Fred pouted, his fork catching his egg yolks just in time to stop them falling into his lap.

"I like it," George winked.

* * *

><p>"This is so bloody stupid." Noel wrapped her arms more tightly around herself as the wind whipped her hair out behind her.<p>

I rolled my eyes. "Noel, you wouldn't be this cold if you weren't dressed like you were about to walk the runway."

When we'd returned to our dormitories to get ready for the snowball fight, I'd discovered that aside from her black wool cloak, Noel did not own any actual winter clothing. I was wearing a thick fleece underneath my jacket, a pair of long underwear beneath my pants, and a pair of rubber Wellingtons. I also had thick gloves, a hat capped over my ears, and a scarf wound up to my eyes. Just because I liked the snow didn't mean I enjoyed being cold.

"Well excuse me for never partaking in something so juvenile as tossing snow at someone's face," she hissed.

The boys were well ahead of us. They, unlike Noel, were quite excited by the prospect of the fight. They were running around like a pack of dogs, trying to stuff snow down one another's pants.

"OI, HOW ABOUT HERE?" Fred called, and I gave him the thumbs up.

"Come on, I want to start!" I grabbed Noel's wrist and forced her to run, her complaining about her designer boots all the while.

The two of us squared off against the twins and Lee, who was eyeing us intimidatingly. Or at least, what he thought was intimidating.

"Okay, we each get fifteen minutes to make our own forts. At the fifteen minute mark, George will whistle to signal we're starting. After that, there's no rules," Fred declared. The trio crossed their arms.

The chill of the air stung my exposed cheeks, but I forced myself to step forward. "You're on." I shook Fred's hand. He gave me a suspicious smile.

"Ready…go!" Lee yelled, and we all sprinted in different directions.

"Noel, over here, hurry!" I waved her over frantically, and with a roll of her eyes, she lightly jogged to where I was standing. "Okay, here's what I'm thinking. We build a fort around this tree; it'll be completely circular so we can move around and see them wherever they are."

She blinked. "Right. Sounds good."

I sighed, smiling nonetheless. I was determined to enjoy myself. "Okay, I'll start making the fort, you start making the snowballs. They said no rules, so use your wand!"

Eagerly, I levitated a large bank of snow to land in front of me, where it began to mold itself into a three foot wall of ice. Once the outside had been taken care of, I turned to observe the tree. Using both my wand and my hands, I pulled down several large branches to conceal our heads.

"Hey!" Noel shrieked as a clump of snow was deposited onto her. "This hat is Givenchy!"

"Sorry," I snickered, trying and failing to hide my smirk.

She shoved me, a tiny smile appearing on her face as well. "Bint."

Suddenly, a loud whistle pierced the air, and dozens of snowballs began to fly straight at our faces.

"DUCK!" I bellowed, yanking Noel down. "Where are they coming from?"

Noel crawled around to the other side of the tree. "I think…AGH!"

She returned with a face full of snow. "Over there," she said bitterly. "They are so dead."

With a warrior cry, Noel leapt over the wall, using her wand to whip up a snowball the size of Wales. It somehow absorbed all the snowballs being tossed her way, making it grow even larger.

"That is not something you see every day," I muttered to myself, following behind her more cautiously. I dodged behind another tree as a sparkling, purple snowball whizzed by inches from my face. Peering between two small tree limbs, I looked around. I couldn't see anything. I could no longer hear Noel's odd war cry. It was silent…too silent.

"GOT YOU!" a voice bellowed from behind me, and I found myself wrapped against George, his hand over my mouth.

I bit at it hand furiously. "George!" I cried when he briefly removed it. "St-"

He clamped it back over my mouth. "Now Prudence, the only way I'll release you is if you agree to surrender."

I shook my head emphatically, only to find myself being lifted into the air.

"Suit yourself," he said innocently, then began to whistle as he dragged me through the snow.

"Okimph, okimph," I managed through his palm.

George retracted his hand. "I'm sorry love, what was that?"

"I _said, _okay. I give up." My tone was sour as he set me back on my feet.

He patted my shoulder. "It's okay Prudence, most people are unprepared for battle with the Weasley twins. Compared to us, everyone is an amateur – HEY!"

With a giggle, I turned tail and ran as fast as I could. George was now buried under a pile of snow thanks to the convenient positioning of a pine tree, but I didn't know how long it would hold him off. "NOEL! NOEL, WHERE ARE YOU!" I yelled, trying to locate my teammate.

A quick glance behind me showed that George was now hot on my heels, Fred also joining the race. He'd been disguised to blend in with a nearby bush. "NOEL – oh."

Blinking, I came to an abrupt halt as I found her lying in the snow and straddling Lee's waist.

"Well it's about time." George came to stand beside me.

The pair showed no signs of stopping. Lee's hands went somewhere inappropriate. "Shall we head back up to the castle and get lunch then?" I suggested vaguely, unable to tear my eyes away from the sight in front of me.

"A great idea!" Fred avowed, and George gently took hold of my elbow, pulling me after him.

I guess I couldn't say I hadn't seen it coming.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hi everyone, sorry for the wait! I'm on spring break now, yay! I hope you enjoyed it, especially the fluffy little bit at the end :) I just couldn't end it after the meeting with Dumbledore, it would have been entirely too depressing. Does anyone else like Noel and Lee, or is it just me? UP NEXT: Hagrid returns, one of Noel's exes emerges, and the Slytherins get a bigger story line. Stay tuned!**


	12. Half-breeds and Blood Traitors

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"I'm bloody freezing!" I complained as we trekked our way across the snowy grounds. The fun of the snowball fight had long since worn out, especially as the twins had just tossed me into a snow drift and I had melting ice in every orifice of my body.<p>

"Wonder why that is?" Fred asked with an innocent bat of his lashes.

Scowling, I cast a drying spell on myself and stalked ahead of them. Both caught up within two strides. "Don't be like that, love," George pleaded.

"Yeah, it's your fault for thinking you could take on the Weasley twins in a snowball fight." Fred sounded oddly smug.

I shuddered in happiness as we made it into the warmth of the Entrance Hall. "Well I can only imagine how many you had with five other siblings," I begrudged.

"It was always the five of _them_ against _us_," George said reminiscently.

"And we always won!" Fred added cheerfully, tweaking my nose.

Both of them had been treating me a bit like a child as of late, and I couldn't tell if I liked the level of comfort they felt with me or hated being considered something of a sister to them. Every time I watched George's eyes twinkle I hated it, but when my fingers traced the tiny book charm around my neck, I decided it wasn't such a bad thing. Add that on top of everything I had been told by Professor Dumbledore, and I was a confused wreck.

Trying to shake myself out of my thoughts, I turned towards the both of them as we took our usual seats at the Gryffindor Table. "Can we talk about the elephant in the room please?"

"That's no way to talk about Hagrid," Dean Thomas said happily from my left side.

"Hagrid?!" At the sound of his name, both twins whipped their heads towards the doors, which had just opened to reveal the school's Care of Magical Creatures professor. With a roar, Fred and George leapt off of the bench and ran over to him, where they wrung his hand repeatedly.

I glanced up at the Head Table, only to see Professor Umbridge looking like she'd bit into something sour. With a small grin, I calmly got out of my seat and walked up to the gamekeeper. I came up to his thigh. "Hello Hagrid!"

"Well if it isn't Prudence Turner!" Hagrid said as he accepted my handshake. "It's bin o' coupl' a years since I've had ter bring you ter Diagon Alley for shoppin', what've you bin up to? Nothin' bad I hope."

Though I had been terrified of Hagrid when he'd first showed up on my doorstep, I'd grown quite fond of him over the years. Up until two summers ago, Hagrid had taken me to get my school supplies, as my father wanted nothing to do with the magical world. I used to spend my entire vacations waiting for his arrival, where he would produce biting teacups and frog spawn from the depths of his mole-skin jacket pockets.

"I've done my best, Sir, the new professor doesn't exactly make it easy," I replied, working to keep the scowl off of my face.

Hagrid let out a booming laugh. "Sir! Look a' this one, knew I liked her!"

Both Fred and George smirked slightly. "But Hagrid, you really don't understand, Umbridge is from the Ministry! She's here to keep an eye on Dumbledore!" Fred said in earnest.

"Nonsense! If Fudge wanted ter keep an eye on Dumbledore, he'd not do it by means of a Hogwarts professor. He always knows what he's doin', Dumbledore, it's all part of his plan I 'spect."

With a shrug, the three of us moved aside as several other Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors bustled over to greet him, Ginny among them. "Cheers, Ginny!"

"Hi Prudence, you haven't seen Michael by any chance, have you? I think he's been avoiding me." The youngest Weasley rolled her eyes as she mentioned her boyfriend's name.

"No, sorry, I've been outside all morning-"

George shoved his way into the conversation. "Oi! I don't like you talking about him in front of us!"

"Yeah Gin, really, don't you know you should keep that sort of stuff private? I think my ears are bleeding," Fred moaned theatrically.

Ginny's brows flew up into her hairline. "Privacy would have been nice when I walked in on you and Angelina Johnson in the Charms corridor on Thursday," she replied coolly. I smirked. "And as for you George, did or did Mum not find a black, lacy bra underneath your bed this summer? How's _that _for keeping stuff private?"

My cheeks burned as George winked. "Would've stayed private if Mum wasn't nosing around. Course, once she suspects something, you know how she gets."

"What was that girl's name? Penny? Polly?" Fred tried to recall.

George frowned. "No, no, I think it started with a D. Dana? Dolly?"

"You're both idiots. It was Holly, and she was really nice. Deserves to be more than a misrepresentation in your mind, honestly. How do you put up with them?" Ginny spoke the last part to me, but I was too mortified to reply.

Thankfully, Noel and Lee had a timely reappearance. "Hagrid!" Lee cried out gleefully, and proceeded to draw him into a conversation about a harpy's reproduction system.

Noel rolled her eyes. "What did I miss?"

"I was just getting a lecture from my brothers about relationships and privacy, and I had to remind them just how obnoxious they were," Ginny summed up, before finding one of her fourth year friends and wandering off.

"She's a little firecracker, isn't she?" Noel remarked.

Fred snorted. "You could say that. Hey, why are Prudence's cheeks so red?"

Turning away abruptly, I made my way back to my seat at the table, pulling biscuits and potatoes onto my plate. "I'm just really hot is all. It's warm in here."

"I think you're embarrassed." Noel leaned towards me, resting her chin in her hands as she eyed me with interest.

"Embarrassed about what?" George asked through a mouthful of beet soup.

A grin slowly spread its way across Noel's face. "Sex."

Against my will, the flush deepened, and I pulled my sweater up over my face. "Stop looking at me."

"Prudence the Prude!" Lee said as he dropped down beside Noel.

"I am _not _a prude," I managed from behind my sweater. George chortled into his goblet of water.

Noel tilted her head and glanced up at the ceiling. "Let's see…my first time was in fifth year, with Christopher Collins. I remember, because Grace had bought me chocolate knickers for the occasion, and he ate them off of me. I mean, every girl's first time is supposed to be painful and uncomfortable, but he was _really _good. Didn't hurt a bit."

My sweater and jaw both dropped. Lee looked like he'd both won the lottery and had a bucket of water dumped over his head. Fred had a brow raised and George merely nodded to himself thoughtfully.

"My turn!" Fred declared. "Let's see…it was last summer at the World Cup. You know, before all the Death Eater stuff. I found this lovely Bulgarian girl who understood two words of English, 'yes,' and 'pleasure.' Had a nice little rendezvous in the woods, we did."

My stomach churned. "Please stop."

"Course then there was also that Muggle girl from Ottery St. Catchpole, and Angelina…she's recurring though," he said as he winked in her direction. She flipped him off and he pretended to catch it and put it in his pocket.

Noel turned to Lee slowly, her smirk widening. "What about you?"

He cleared his throat importantly. "Two years ago, Lisa Buchanan. Broom closet, third floor, all night."

"You chose a broom closet for your first time? How romantic," Noel drawled.

"Yeah mate, you could learn a thing or two from Georgie here," Fred boasted.

George, who had remained silent this entire time, coughed as the tips of his ears turned red. "It's not that great."

"Boooo!" Noel hissed. "Tell us!"

Deflecting some bits of sausage that Lee tossed at him, he rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. The summer before fifth year I was trying to impress some older girl who worked at the ice cream shop near our house, so one day I showed up at closing time and produced some flowers out of thin air. She was so impressed with my magical abilities – she had no idea I was a real wizard and I'd stolen my mother's wand - that she agreed to go on a date with me, and when one thing led to another I brought her to our back garden.

"I'd set up a blanket, some champagne, and flower petals ahead of time, because I'd heard girls liked that kind of thing. I had some music playing from a muggle radio my dad had lying around, and I'd fixed some fairy lights on the branches of the willow tree nearby."

Lee whistled as Noel applauded slightly. "I have to say, I didn't think you had it in you, Weasley. The boys of this school could definitely learn something from you," she acknowledged approvingly.

Slowly, the four of them spun towards me. I sunk down in my seat. "I think we've all established that I'm a virgin."

"Yeah, but have you ever done anything else? Come on Prudence, please don't tell me you're seventeen and never been kissed," Noel snorted.

I pointedly took a sip of pumpkin juice.

She gasped slightly. "Okay, this is a problem. Someone take Prudence's virginity, quick!" she yelled.

Neville Longbottom, who had been sitting three seats down, began to cough violently, having choked on his shepherd's pie.

"Are you volunteering, Neville?" Fred asked joyfully, slapping the fifth year on the back.

"Kill me," I whispered, burying my head in my hands. After several moments, the conversation thankfully changed to Hagrid's timely arrival and I could finally raise my head, the flush dying down. George rubbed my back ever so slightly, and my cheeks lit up again like fireworks. I sighed.

* * *

><p>"You've honest to Merlin, <em>never <em>snogged a boy before?" Noel continued to pester me later on that night in our dormitory.

Scowling, I spat my toothpaste into the sink. "Never."

There was a pause. "A girl?"

"No!" I shut off the light in the bathroom a little too harshly, and the lamp wobbled dangerously.

Noel eyed me as I settled onto my bed. Grace was luckily absent. The absolute last thing I needed was Miss Beauty Queen sneering at my inexperience. "You know, I thought you'd at least done something with Cedric. The two of you were together an awful lot…and I mean, with all those late night patrols, I thought for _sure _that something had happened."

"Well…" I started, then stopped as her face lit up. "Do you remember that night in fifth year, when we all had to sleep in the Great Hall because Sirius Black was in the castle?"

She grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "Uh huh…"

"All the prefects had to patrol the Hall that night, to make sure all the students were accounted for and no one was sneaking off." I took a deep breath. This was the memory that I most often tried to repress, because it left me feeling so hollow. "Cedric and I were walking around together, because he knew how I felt about the dark. Of course, we weren't as friendly as we were last year, but we'd still studied together numerous times and he'd started to eat breakfast with me on Monday mornings.

"Anyway, we were towards the back, checking on the Ravenclaws, when I tripped over someone's bag and stumbled a bit. Cedric grabbed my forearms to stop me from falling, like this," I demonstrated, trying to ignore the look of scandal on Noel's face. "He kept hold of my arms for a minute, and he was staring at me like he'd never seen me before. His right hand let go of me and – reached up and brushed back my hair."

My voice caught and I stopped to take a shuddering breath. "He leaned in a little bit, but I couldn't move. I was frozen, literally, in fear. Before he could kiss me, I think that's what he was trying to do, another prefect walked by, and he jumped back about two feet."

"Wow." Noel looked impressed.

"I've never stopped wondering what it would have been like if he'd done it. But I'm not sure that he was going to, because he never tried again after that. And now he's dead." There was a heavy silence. It was the first time I'd acknowledged Cedric was really gone out loud, but it didn't make me feel any better. I just felt empty.

All of a sudden, Noel scrambled over to me and sat on my bed with her legs crossed. "Prudence, he wanted to, I know he did. It was honestly sickening how much he spoke of you. He was probably scared it would ruin your friendship. I mean let's face it, you were never the most stable person. Everything made you nervous, even people, even him. And then Cho came along last year, and he most likely thought that was the right route to keep your friendship intact."

"I never thought of it like that," I whispered, my hand finding its way to the charm of its own accord. "That he might've cared so much that he didn't want to risk anything."

She nodded emphatically. "It's true. You can trust me, I'm good at this kind of thing."

I looked up at her abruptly. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because I like you, you stupid bint." Noel rolled her eyes and tossed back her hair, wandering into the bathroom. "Sometimes you're so clueless."

This had been a pleasant turn of events. I settled under my covers and yanked my hangings around me, a small grin on my face. Despite the events of last night, I'd had a really good day today, and it was the first time I felt like someone would actually miss me if I was gone.

* * *

><p>"Noel, what are you doing?" I asked in confusion as I was shoved forwards.<p>

She peered around my waist. "What is he doing here? How can he be here? He doesn't go here anymore! He graduated! He shouldn't be here!"

"Who?" My eyes scanned the Great Hall, looking for anyone out of place. No one looked particularly out of place. Well, except for Luna, who was reading an upside down Quibbler.

"I've got to go, I've got to go," she muttered to herself, slowly backing away. "Agh!"

Lee had walked up behind us and grabbed hold of her. "Noel, what are you doing?"

"That's what I asked," I said, my eyes still focused on the sea of students.

"He's coming this way!" she hissed, and fought to get out of Lee's grasp. "Let go of me!"

A tall, blonde haired and blue eyed man who I vaguely recognized had risen from the Ravenclaw table and was now walking towards us.

"Phwoar, it's Dash Stretton!" Fred exclaimed, and George, despite the bags underneath his eyes, blinked and stood up straight.

"There she is," Dash said in a deep, booming voice. "Noel Dalton in the flesh."

Lee, looking suspicious, finally released her. She looked scared as she drew herself up to her full height. "Hello Dash."

He smirked and held his arms out. "What are you doing? Get over here!"

"I…" Noel's brown eyes widened slightly as she looked over at me. With a reluctant sigh she stepped forward, and he wrapped his burly arms around her, one hand dangerously low on her back.

Lee's eyes were spitting fire. Fred had his trademark brow raised. George was yawning. "How have you been? Godric you're beautiful. Pictures really don't do you justice," Dash winked, fingering a strand of her hair.

"What are you doing here?" she asked stiffly as she stepped backwards slightly, towards Lee. I didn't miss the tiny flash of darkness that flitted across Dash's face.

"It's the Slytherin-Ravenclaw match today, you know I couldn't miss it. And I had to see my favorite girl, didn't I?" he asked silkily, giving her a megawatt smile.

There was something about their interactions that was very murky. Something was there that we couldn't see, and I desperately tried to recall any times Noel may have talked about him with Grace. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind. I'd been more wrapped up in myself than I thought.

Fred and George, having sensed something off about the conversation, began to edge around them towards the Gryffindor table. Once they were out of Noel's peripheral vision, they legged it over to the bench and sat down. George slumped over and began to snore.

"I'm your favorite girl, am I?" Noel's eyes narrowed, as did Lee's. If Noel hadn't been acting so strangely, I would have found Lee's overprotection quite funny.

"Of course you are, Nelly Belly. You know you are. Things aren't the same without you. I miss you." Dash's blue eyes seemed to be paralyzing her, and just stood there, letting him intimidate her.

I coughed. "Right, well, this was nice, but Noel's actually got to tutor me in the library, and we need to eat, so…"

Lee stepped around Noel and crossed his arms, which were decidedly less impressive than his adversary's. "Yeah, we've got things to do, so if you could move out of the way, that'd be great."

"Right." I held my breath for a moment as the two continued to face off, until, after a long pause, Dash stepped aside. "Enjoy your breakfast. And I'll see _you _later."

I grabbed Noel's wrist and propelled her along, Lee following at a slower rate. I supposed it was hard to walk and glare at someone at the same time.

"You've had sex with Dash Stretton?!" Fred bombarded her as we sat down. I whacked him over the back of the head. "Ow, woman!"

Noel's hand shook as she poured herself a goblet of water, drenching the biscuits. Lee grabbed the pitcher from her hand and filled her cup, passing it to her gently.

"Sorry, but it's not every day I know someone who's shagged a professional quidditch player," Fred said grumpily.

George yawned and slapped himself across the face in an effort to wake up.

That's right…Dash had played quidditch here a few years back. He'd nearly taken the 6 year winning streak away from Slytherin in his seventh year.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" I asked George quietly, preparing some tea. He looked like he'd been up all night. His eyes were puffy, his skin pallid, and his hair limp.

He shook his head slowly. "I had detention with Umbridge last night. That's why we didn't have you testing any products. She kept me there until well past midnight; I thought my hand was going to fall off. I was in too much pain to sleep, so I kind of just laid there with my hand in a bucket of ice water."

"What did you do?" I grabbed his left hand as carefully as I could. The entire back of it was swollen, the letters of 'I must not disturb the class,' mixed in with all of his other misdeeds. "And what about your Murtlap?"

George retracted his hand. "I didn't turn in that last essay, and I guess she finally got around to grading them. Told me if I didn't come to her office for detention I'd fail the entire class. And I ran out. Last Hogsmeade trip was a month ago and I've had...nine detentions with her?"

"Jesus, George." He shrugged. "Come on, get up. I've got some Murtlap in my room, we're going to get it."

Sluggishly, George crammed a slice of toast into his mouth and rose, his long legs quaking with the effort.

"See you lot at the match," I called behind me, walking hurriedly out of the hall. "Honestly, you should've just gone to Madame Pomfrey if it hurt that badly. This is seriously infected!"

He lumbered behind me. "S'fine."

I ignored the spray of crumbs that flew in my direction. "No, it's not." I tapped the barrel five times, and once the tunnel appeared, I gestured for him to follow me.

"So this is what your common room looks like," George observed. "I always pictured it with a lot more...plants."

"If we had any of the plants that we worked on in class, we'd be sending first years to the Hospital Wing in droves," I said, trying not to notice the stares I was receiving from Grace, Martin, Terrence, and Patrick. Grace had paused mid-nail file. "George, come _on!_"

With another yawn, his managed to carry himself across the room and down the tunnel that led to the girls dormitories. "You get used to the dirt smell after a while," I said apologetically.

I unlocked the door with a flick of my wrist and the room filled with light. I loved how it looked in the mornings. Our windows were positioned so that as the sun was rising, it flooded over our beds and crept along the floor until the entire dorm was engulfed.

"I think it's in the bathroom, just let me check…" I hurried into the loo and rifled through the drawers. The last time I'd seen the substance was when Grace had given it to me in September, and I'd left it on the counter top. "Got it!" I yelled triumphantly after several minutes of searching.

I walked back into the room to find George standing in front of my desk, holding up a picture in a tarnished, silver frame. "What are you doing?"

"Is this your mum?" he asked, looking slightly more awake.

Nervously, I conjured a bowl to put the potion in. My fingers fumbled with the cork. "Yes."

"She looks like you," George commented, placing it back down so he could accept the Murtlap. "Thanks, love."

Absentmindedly, he settled onto my bed, leaning back against the pillows. Noticing my stare, he patted the spot beside him. Instead, I stayed where I was, clasping my sweaty hands together. "Are you okay? You look peaky."

"Can I tell you something?" I burst out, wincing slightly as the sound filled the room.

"…please don't tell me you dated Dash Stretton too," he said with such a stern expression that a small giggle escaped from my mouth. George smirked victoriously and motioned to the spot beside him once more.

I sighed and slid my shoes off, seating myself beside him with one leg tucked beneath me. "George, this is serious."

Shifting a bit to face me, being careful not to spill the potion onto my mattress, he mimed zipping his mouth shut. "I'm all ears, I promise."

"All right, so you know how about a week ago I went to see Dumbledore?" At his nod, I continued, albeit a bit reluctantly. "I was trying to find out some information. About my mother."

He looked like he wanted to ask questions, but gestured for me to go on. I kept my gaze down. "My mother was friends with your uncles, Fabian and Gideon Prewett."

"Really?" George asked before catching himself.

"They weren't just friends though, they were really close. Best mates actually. Professor McGonagall told me. She was their Head of House. The three of them were even aurors together at the Ministry." I was completely unsure of why I was telling him this, except for the fact that keeping everything inside of my head was making me go crazy, and I was getting desperate. The nightmares were coming every night now.

George frowned. "So you've known this for a week now?"

I nodded. "Yes. I thought you might want to know. I read that your uncles were killed in action when you were young, so obviously you can't know much about them."

"I don't, just that they were twins like Fred and I, and they were killed by Death Eaters. My mum doesn't like it when anyone brings them up. She was only a bit older than us when they died, and whenever someone says their names, she hides away in her bedroom," George said. He looked like he was thinking hard about something.

"That's not all, though." I picked at a loose thread on the duvet. "My mother is…sick. Right after your uncles were killed, right after everyone thought You-Know-Who was gone, she went with two other aurors to London, to a Death Eater hideout to try and capture some of them."

George placed the bowl onto my end table to give me his full attention. He was watching me so intently that my voice started to waver. "They got into the building all right, but they got trapped, and a woman found them. Her name was Bellatrix Lestrange. She tortured them for hours, until the Ministry arrived and arrested her and her husband. By then, my mother had been under the Cruciatus Curse for so long that she wasn't quite right anymore."

He swore under his breath. "Is she…still alive?"

"Yes, but also no. She's in a kind of vegetative state that healers can't really explain. She can walk a bit but she can't speak, and she doesn't really register that there's anyone around. She's lucid sometimes though; it happened once when I was five, when I was nine, and when I was thirteen. So, so I'm lucky, really. Some people don't get to meet their parents at all; just look at Harry," I stammered nervously. I'd never told anyone this before, not even Cedric.

George ran a hand through his hair. "Prudence…"

"No, it's okay. You don't have to apologize. I just wanted to tell you." He nodded slightly, and the two of us sat quietly for a moment. "I'm really glad we're friends." I refused to look at him as I said it. My cheeks were too red.

He smirked and cuffed my chin. "Me too."

Suddenly the room exploded in sound as the door flung open, slamming into the wall. "Come on, we've got to hide!"

I was so startled that I fell off the bed and knocked my head against the bed frame. "Merlin's beard Noel!" I admonished her as I rubbed my hairline.

"Hurry up, we don't have a lot of time, the match is about to start!" Noel stormed into the room and grabbed her satchel with a look of manic determination on her face. "We're going to Gryffindor Tower, he'll never find us there!"

I exchanged an eyebrow raise with George as Lee rushed forward to take Noel's bag from her. "Noel, calm down. Whatever's wrong, we can fix it, okay?"

"NO WE CAN'T!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her chest heaving.

Fred dropped the muffin he was holding, but made no movement to pick it up. Lee's mouth was slightly agape.

"Gryffindor Tower, you heard her," I said, and everyone seemed to snap to attention. I gathered a few belongings into my own rucksack, George grabbed his Murtlap dish, and the five of us took a very detoured route up to the seventh floor that avoided every major stairwell and corridor in the school. Half the time I didn't know where we were.

Noel forced Lee to look around every corner first, and insisted that if any of us caught sight of Dash, we were to yell, "the Claw, the Claw!" and scatter in different directions like some kind of special forces team. She was acting like a complete lunatic, and I had no clue what to make of it. I'd never seen her so upset. She normally radiated confidence, and she never let guys affect her like this. I'd been calling her a man-eater in my head since third year when she'd developed breasts and started to make boys cry.

She breathed a sigh of relief once we had made it up into Lee and the twins' dormitory. Thankfully, Kenneth was gone, presumably in the library, and Noel locked the door with three different spells in varying shades of red and purple. Shaking slightly, she fell onto Lee's bed.

"You know there's a tarantula beside you, right?" Fred asked innocently, leaning against the wall and folding his arms over his chest. Noel screamed and scrambled away, clambering onto George's bed and hiding behind the hangings.

The twins burst into laughter, but I pinched the skin beneath their biceps until they stopped. "It's not funny. Noel, what's going on?"

"Yeah, what's got you acting like a madcap?" Lee demanded, setting her satchel down.

She eyed all of us for a moment, almost like she was sizing us up. "Sidebar! Prudence, bathroom, now."

"Okay…" Frowning, I reluctantly trailed after her. "Oh, wait a minute. Accio Extendable Ears!"

Lee and the twins groaned as about twenty small, purple boxes flew into my arms, neatly stacking themselves into piles of five, and I rolled my eyes at them as I shut the door behind me, casting an additional silencing spell to ensure privacy.

Noel was sitting primly on the edge of the bathtub with her hands clasped in her lap and her legs crossed, but her right foot wouldn't stop tapping. "You remember I used to date Dash, right?"

"Er, sure. I mean I don't remember much, but you were together for all of fourth and fifth year, right?" I dug through my foggy memories trying to pinpoint an exact moment.

"Unfortunately." Noel pursed her lips and glowered. "Let's just say he wasn't very nice to me."

I blinked. "What did he do?"

There was a pause. It was so quiet that I could hear the breathing of Lee and the twins from outside the door. "We fought a lot. He always thought I was sneaking around behind his back, and I knew for sure that he was cheating on me. Most of the time though, he was just high. He has a drug problem; cocaine mostly, some pixie dust, a little opium."

"And what did he do to you when he was high?" I asked quietly.

She dabbed at the corners of her eyes. "Well, sometimes he would force me down onto the bed…other times he would be too angry to do that. I always found myself in some random bathroom, at some random hour, cleaning myself up so no one would see that way. Merlin forbid he get in trouble and his quidditch career be jeopardized," she said bitterly.

Uncomfortably, I massaged my left wrist which had suddenly seized up in pain. "Noel, I'm so sorry. I know how it-I mean, I can imagine how awful that must have been for you. Have you ever told anyone about this? Sprout, or-or your parents?"

"No. You're the first." She laughed mirthlessly. "He's who I was writing all those letters to. He was trying to come back into my life, and he wouldn't stop sending me owls until I replied. I tried telling him I wasn't interested, that I'd moved on and didn't want to see him again. He begged and pleaded with me to meet up during Hogsmeade, but I said if he ever came near me again that I would go to the Wizengamot."

"So that's what we'll do. We'll contact the authorities," I spoke firmly, sitting down beside her.

Noel's eyes widened. "Hell no. I'm not stupid, I know the chances of him getting convicted are slim. Who are they going to believe, a female student whose had more than her fair share of suitors or a handsome quidditch star who has personally signed autographs for half the council? I would just get branded as the girl trying to get revenge on her famous ex-boyfriend, and everyone would hate me."

I pondered this in my head. She was probably right. As there was no longer any physical evidence, it couldn't be proven, and it would be a complete verbal battle. "Do you want to tell them?" I gestured towards the dormitory.

"I don't think so. Not yet. I only wanted to tell you because I knew you wouldn't judge," Noel explained softly, staring pointedly at the tiled pattern on the wall.

Tentatively, I scooted over and wrapped my arms around her. After a moment, during which I started to pull back, I felt a few tear drops fall onto my shoulder. I squeezed a little tighter.

After about twenty minutes, Noel had calmed down enough to touch up her makeup and rejoin the boys. There was a full-blown picnic taking over George's bed, and the three of them were lying on the ground and snacking on pastries and cheeses.

"We got bored," Lee explained with a shrug.

"And hungry," Fred added through a mouthful of food.

My brow furrowed. "We just ate breakfast."

George laughed. "Yes, but there's always second breakfast!"

"Yeah, it's called lunch," Noel said drily as she settled herself onto a desk chair daintily.

I giggled and found a relatively clean spot of floor between Lee and George, snatching up a pumpkin pasty. The day passed surprisingly quickly for five people being locked up in a small space. By noon my sides hurt from laughing, and by dinner time my cheeks ached from smiling. All five of us tried out a bunch of the twins' products, although that came to an end when it took forty minutes for Fred's hair to grow back out of his scalp.

We had juggling competitions, orange juice chugging contests (that one was gross), a full Exploding Snap tournament that ended up with my fingernails being singed, and I spent a good three hours sketching individual portraits of all of them. Lee declared that he was getting his framed as a Christmas present for his mother. I hoped she appreciated his sense of humor.

Kenneth had attempted to get back in around four o'clock, but Fred merely slid a fresh pair of underwear under the door for him and told him to come back later. Around ten o'clock, I yawned and decided to head back to my own common room. Noel wished to leave as well, but insisted on going the scenic route with Lee, so the twins offered to walk me back the normal way.

"Wow, it's so much colder out here," I remarked as a shiver ran down my spine. The halls were relatively empty, as curfew was in half an hour, and there was a heavy chill in the air. "The Scottish weather actually makes me miss Wales."

"You're Welsh?" George asked in surprise.

I nodded and ducked under a faded tapestry that had embroidery of the Black Lake on it. "On my father's side, yes. I live in Monmouthshire."

Fred waggled his brows. "So you're pretty well-off then, eh? Maybe _you_ should be paying _us_ for testing our products!"

"My father's the one who's well-off. The money doesn't exactly get shared," I said stiffly.

"That's all right love, one day you'll be the head healer of all of St. Mungo's, and you'll own half of England!" George declared cheerfully, bumping my shoulder with his.

I laughed quietly. "That's the dream. Not sure I'd like to own anything in England though. Spain now, _that _would be nice."

Fred snorted. "Do you speak any Spanish?"

"Er, no. But I know how to say, 'I've got ten toes,' in Italian. Perhaps Italy would be more fitting. I've heard Rome's nice," I said wistfully, my mind wandering to gondola boats and never-ending pasta dishes.

"Wants to live abroad, check," George muttered to himself, pretending to scrawl something on a list.

"Look what we've got here! Blood-traitor scum and a filthy little half-breed! Three for the price of none!"

At the snickers and sneers from behind us, we all whirled around quickly, our wands out. We found a group of bulky Slytherins comprised of Graham Montague, Adrian Pucey, Marcus Flint, and Cassius Warrington.

Fred sneered. "We've got no business with you, Montague, so you might as well clear off."

"Yeah, take your smelly oafs somewhere else, my eyes are starting to burn," George insisted, his wand raising several inches higher.

Flint and Warrington cracked their knuckles as Pucey smirked, his dark eyes glittering. I reached out for George's elbow. "Guys, they're not worth it. You know Umbridge is looking for any reason to get you in trouble; you'll be expelled!"

As the two of them reluctantly lowered their arms, Montague chortled. "That's right scum, listen to your little half-breed whore."

"Shut your mouth," George snarled, but I held fast to his elbow.

"George!" I said sharply, and he stepped backwards. "That's enough; let's go."

I should've known that just because I was in plain sight, just because I was at Hogwarts, the safest place in the world, just because I was with two other people, it wasn't smart to turn my back on a group of Slytherins.

"Organum mortem!" Montague yelled, and I felt something hot pass through me, right before I gasped and my body turned rigid.

"Oh," was all I said. Then I passed out.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey everyone! I know it's been a few days so I gave you an extra long chapter! Although since I left it at a cliffhanger, I guess I lose all my brownie points, huh? **

**What do you guys think of Noel and Lee? How about Ginny's newfound friendship with Prudence? Who is _totally _creeped out by Dash, and who hates Montague? Leave a review!**

**Up next: Prudence gets familiar with the Hospital Wing, another DA meeting, a chance encounter, and Christmas is coming! Stay tuned!**


	13. Keep Calm and Rebel On

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Prudence, I spent twenty minutes doing your hair all up and you've gone and torn it all down, why?"<p>

I blinked, turning around in confusion only to find myself face to face with my mother. We were outdoors, and she was holding a pair of ice skates in one hand and my arm in the other. "Mum?"

"Yes dear?" She stopped walking and looked down at me with a warm smile. It was a perfect contrast to the dreary sky behind her.

This must have been another dream. I whirled around, trying to take in my surroundings. "Erm, where are we going?"

"To the pond of course. Didn't I ever tell you I used to be a champion ice skater?" My mother started walking again, her long, dark hair becoming a safe haven for the snowflakes that were being blown off of a nearby snow bank.

I jogged to catch up, out of breath from trudging through the heavy snow. "No, you didn't. You never got the chance to say much, really."

She ignored me as the pond came into view, letting out a tinkering laugh. "Okay, I'm going to take you out onto the ice with me, but first I'm going to show you how to lace up your boots, just do what I do, all right?"

I settled myself onto a small log, turning it into a makeshift bench, and eagerly watched her fingers, which moved so nimbly that I could hardly believe this was the same person who had been lying in bed for four years.

"That's right doll, loosen them up a bit first and just slide your feet in," she spoke encouragingly. "Right, now you're going to start pulling the laces one by one from the bottom up to tighten it and make it all nice and snug. Make sure you can still move your toes though!"

She clapped her hands in delight as I finished the first skate. "It looks like we have a natural. I bet you'll be skating on your own in no time, just like your mother!"

Once we were both laced up, she took my hand and we hobbled over to the large, frozen pond that was a little ways behind our house. I could just see the chimney through the tops of the trees. "Mum, I'm scared," I admitted.

"Being scared is nothing to be ashamed of, Prudence. It only means you're uncomfortable with something. Have you ever heard the phrase, 'ignorance is bliss?' It's because those people aren't smart enough to know there are scary things all around them." She stepped one skate onto the ice and gestured for me to do the same.

Nervously, I followed suit, leaving the other foot firmly on the solid ground.

"Now the other one, dear. I'm right here, I'm not going to let you fall. Come on, you can do it!"

Gingerly, I slid my other foot forward, gripping her hand so tightly I couldn't feel my fingers. "Hey, hey stop!" I shrieked as she began to pull me along.

"Prudence, it's not dangerous, see? We're going nice and slow," she said assuredly.

After a moment my heart rate slowed, and I found myself grinning. "This isn't so bad."

She turned to me and smiled. "Ready to try it on your own? I'll be right beside you."

"O-okay, if you think it's a good idea." Glancing up at her anxiously, I slipped my hand from hers and pushed my left foot slightly ahead of my right. It was harder to stay upright, but the more I moved my feet, the sturdier I became. "Mum, I'm doing it, I'm doing it!"

"You're doing great, honey! Go around the whole pond now, nice and slow, all right?" she yelled, and I briefly spared her a thumbs up before I began to pick up speed. This was _fun_. "Prudence, I said nice and slow! Please be careful!"

I did not heed her warning. The sensation of my hair whipping out behind me, the weightlessness of my body on the ice, this was the best I'd ever felt! I urged my feet to move even faster, and the trees around me began to blur together.

"Prudence?" a voice asked softly, and it sounded so close behind me that I gasped and stumbled, pitching forward on the ice.

I slammed my eyes shut and waited for the dizziness to subside as I went slip-sliding across the pond. "Prudence, can you hear me?"

"Yes…"

With a gasp, my eyelids fluttered open and I had an odd sense of falling upwards. I was in an unfamiliar room, and a chill hung in the air. Shadows were dancing along the walls where a few large candles were burning, creating an eerie background.

"You're awake!"

I managed to turn my head slightly to the right, surprised to see George. "What happened?" My voice was raspy and my speech was slow. It took a lot of effort to get the words out and my mouth felt stiff.

"Don't worry," he spoke quickly, seeing my expression. "Madame Pomfrey said to expect this when you woke up, shall I go and fetch her?"

"No," I said as quickly as I could manage. George slowly sank back down into his chair. "I want you to tell me what happened, not her. Am I in the Hospital Wing?"

He sighed and nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. His hair looked like it hadn't been brushed or properly washed in a few days. "Right. What's the last thing you remember?"

I frowned. It also proved hard to think; my brain seemed to still be stuck in my dream, and it was as though I had to physically drag the thoughts into my mind. I'd been somewhere with George…and Fred. "Were we in the Entrance Hall?"

"Oh good." His face flooded with relief. "Yes, you, Fred and I were all there. We were walking you back to your dormitory on Saturday night."

My brow furrowed. "It's…not still Saturday night?"

"Well," he started, looking vaguely uncomfortable. "It's been a little while since then."

"George, what day is it?" My voice was quiet.

He leaned backwards in his chair. "Ah, Wednesday."

My breath seemed to get stuck in my throat. "It's been four days? Oh my god, what about classes? Homework? I'll never catch up. I must be so far behind!" The longer I stayed awake, the easier it became to speak, and the more my panic increased.

"No, Noel's been doing all your work for you, don't worry," George assured me. "Well, except for your potions, Lee's been taking care of those."

Great.

"Montague," I said suddenly, looking over to him for confirmation.

George sighed again. "What happened was that Montague and his cronies were harassing us that night, and when you turned your back to walk away, he attacked you. He used the spell, 'organum mortem,' which roughly translates to 'organ death' in Latin. I looked it up."

"Oh my… Am I dead?" I asked, trying to sit upright so I could look at my surroundings better.

He chuckled slightly. "No, you're not. If you were, I wouldn't be here; I would be in Hell, with the rest of the fun people," George teased, and I relaxed back into the pillows. "Right, so after you got hit with the curse, you just kind of crumpled on the floor. Fred ran after Montague, to try and get the countercurse out of him, but he knew the dungeons way better and Fred lost him.

"While Fred was doing that, I brought you up here as fast as I could. I had to wake Madame Pomfrey up, she wasn't too happy about that, but as soon as she saw you she got right to work. Bloody shoved me out the door, she did. I couldn't get back in, and I couldn't see how you were doing, but I was too anxious to just leave so I sat out in the corridor for a while." George paused to see how I was taking the news.

I stared up at the ceiling as I tried to picture all of this in my head. "What happened next?"

"I must have been out there for about an hour or so before Fred came back with Lee and Noel. They all tried to get in too – Noel was damn near ready to blast the entire wall apart – but Pomfrey insisted we wait for a while longer. Finally, just as the sun was coming up, she came and unlocked the door."

My stomach felt funny. There was a weight that seemed to be settled on my chest, and everything was…fluttery. Was it wrong to feel happy when I was lying in a sick bed?

"I don't want to alarm you, but you looked pretty gruesome. Noel almost started crying because she thought you were dead, until Madam Pomfrey explained that she'd put you into an induced coma, which I guess is a fancy way of saying she put you to sleep. The spell Montague used had started to shut down all of your vital organs, though thankfully it was moving slowly and hadn't gotten to your heart or lungs yet." George tried to lighten the mood, but his face was too grim and his voice fell flat.

"What happened to Montague? Did he get in trouble?"

George rubbed his eyes. "Unfortunately, no. Professor Dumbledore, Sprout, and McGonagall all came in shortly after us, and Fred and I explained what happened as quick as we could, but by the time they found him it seemed he'd gotten several steps ahead of us. He must have used someone else's wand to cast the curse, because the only spells he'd used in the last twelve hours or so were ones we'd done in class. And despite what Fred and I said, all the other Slytherins were backing them up. Claimed they'd been playing Wizard's Chess in the common room all night," he finished bitterly.

"So he's just, what? Sleeping all cozied up in his bed right now?" My voice started to rise in anger.

He edged forward on his seat. "No – no, Prudence, please don't shout. Listen, Fred and I are going to take care of it. We'll make sure he gets what's coming to him, we just have to wait a little while for this to blow over, or else everyone will assume it's you getting revenge and you'll get in trouble."

"So I nearly died, Montague tried to _murder _me, and it's just over? Done with?" I let out a mirthless laugh but quickly stopped when pain shot into my left side.

Noticing my discomfort, George gently adjusted the sheets so I was no longer weighted down by them. "You might want to be careful. Since you were asleep and couldn't take any potions, Pomfrey had to give you everything by sticking you with needles."

Frowning, I lifted up the loose, white, cotton shirt I was wearing and shuddered. Swirling down my entire ribcage was one continuous bruise, the damage blossoming against my skin like a gruesome flower.

"The needles were pretty big," George said apologetically. "Lee actually fainted!"

I tried to get my thoughts straight. Saturday night, after hanging out in Gryffindor Tower all day, I'd been attacked with dark magic by Graham Montague, which made my internal organs start to shut down. George had brought me to Madam Pomfrey who had put me asleep for four days while she tried to…what? Chase the curse out? Repair the damage?

"George, why haven't I gone to St. Mungo's? If it was serious, shouldn't I be there, with more than just one healer? I mean, shouldn't I have a whole team of them?" I asked anxiously, my fingers twisting the rough, starchy sheets. I'd been studying to become a healer since I was eleven; I knew the standard protocol.

"She didn't want to move you until she knew how bad it was, and once she saw it she said it was nothing she couldn't fix. I guess this spell was pretty popular in the 70s. Muggle-borns used to get brought in for it all the time, and somehow no one ever died." With a shake of his head, he let out a huge yawn.

A spell that had been used during You-Know-Who's reign of terror was now resurfacing; somehow I didn't think it was a coincidence. Was Montague a Death Eater? Had they really infiltrated our school? No, he'd probably just learned the spell from his father, that had to be it. Most likely thought it would bring him some amusement. Meanwhile, I had missed out on four days of my life and felt like if I moved even an inch, my body would erupt in pain.

"George? One last thing. Are there going to be any, er, long-term effects? I mean, I'll be able to do everything just fine, right? She fixed my…organs?"

"I think so. She didn't say otherwise, so don't panic. Shall I go get her now?" At my frantic nod, George stood and headed to the back of the Hospital Wing, where he descended a small flight of stairs. Several moments later, he returned with Madam Pomfrey at his heels, who was tying a terrycloth robe around her waist.

"Miss Turner! You're awake 14 hours early! You should still be sleeping," she stated brusquely as she bustled around, snatching vials and potions out of the air as they flew towards her.

I reached a shaky hand up and shoved a clump of hair out of my eyes. It felt extremely greasy. "I think I'm all slept out."

She shoved a tray containing six different potions at me. "Yes, well, that tends to happen when you've been in a coma. Drink these from left to right; these are all the nutrients you haven't been eating."

"Do I have to?" I asked rhetorically. The first one was thick and brown and smelled like dirt. Honestly, it looked a bit like dirt. With a grimace, I plugged my nose and tossed it back, gratefully accepting a goblet of water from George so I could wash it down.

The next one was easier; it was pink and tasted like cotton candy. I continued to drink until all the flasks were empty and the contents of my stomach were sloshing around. Thankfully, the last one had been peppermint, and it had washed away the contrast of tastes that had stuck to my tongue.

"Now, I assume Mr. Weasley has informed you of what happened?" I nodded. "I not only reversed the curse, I obliterated it at its source, so there are no physical traces of it left in your system. However, due to the tremendous amount of energy that your body had to use to try and fight it, you'll be extremely fatigued for the next week or so. In fact, I'd say you won't even be able to get out of bed for another three or four days."

"Days?!" I gaped at George, who looked just as shocked as me. "But…what about classes? My exams? My prefect rounds?"

Madam Pomfrey used a bony hand to force me back into the pillows. "Miss Turner, I must ask that you calm down. You have been excused from all of your classes, your homework is right beside you, and I daresay you shouldn't worry about patrolling. There are more than enough prefects to cover for you for a little while longer."

I pouted slightly as I caught sight of the mountain of books next to me. They were stacked on the floor and reached all the way up to the bed. George was using it as an arm rest. "What else though? I mean, I can't believe that after a curse like that, the worst bit is being fatigued."

"No, you're quite right. You should have a loss in appetite, and might not even want to eat at all, which is why I'll be keeping you here at least through the weekend; that way, you can drink all of your meals." I pulled a face and George ducked his head as he laughed. "You might have a bit of nausea, some swelling in your abdomen due to some fluid retention, a shortness of breath and a slight loss of memory, and at times you may feel disoriented. You should be thanking the stars; it could have been much, much worse."

"Worse how?" George exclaimed in disbelief, and my hands curled into fists.

She fixed him with a look. "Rest assured, Mr. Weasley, your sarcasm is not helping. Now that Miss Turner is awake, surely you would find it prudent to return to your dormitory so as not to disturb her healing process."

Seeing my stricken expression, he shook his head. "I'd like to stay, if that's all right. What's one more night in a creaky hospital chair?"

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Fine, but if there's even the slightest disturbance or hint of a Zonko's product in my ward, you'll face a suspension indefinitely!"

After checking my vital signs and forcing me to drink half a pitcher of water, she seemed satisfied with my progress and returned to her sleeping quarters, leaving George and I in the silence. I wondered what he had done to make her so suspicious.

"You don't have to stay, really. You have classes tomorrow." I didn't look at him as I spoke. I'd never been a good liar.

He smirked. "I had classes Monday, Tuesday, and today as well, and Prudence, I know you're afraid of the dark. Noel told me. I don't mind staying. The others would have been here as well but you're only allowed one overnight visitor apparently, and it was my turn tonight. We all wanted to make sure you weren't going to get up and go run a marathon through Hogsmeade or something."

I smiled, choosing to ignore the real reason they had been keeping watch over me. "You know me and those marathons. Can't stay away."

"Oh, I forgot! Tons of people have been in to visit, not just us, and they brought you cards and the like," George said eagerly, opening the drawer of my nightstand. It was filled to the brim. "Go on, open them."

"These are…for me?" I asked in shock. "From who?"

He grinned and ruffled my greasy hair. "Well, let's see. This one's from Ginny and Hermione. They dropped in on Monday to see how you were doing."

I took the card from him gingerly, my arms shaking slightly at the effort. It was constructed on a lilac piece of parchment and in brightly colored script read, 'Get better soon, Prudence!' Below that was a bunch of smiley faces and sparkles. Hermione had included a seven step process for recovering from a physical illness using only my brain. "This is really nice."

"_This_ one's from Looney – I mean, Luna. It came with this," George said, his lips twitching as he handed me another card and an oddly-shaped fruit.

"Oh, er, what is it?" I opened the card, staying far away from its colorful companion. The parchment was 3-D, a fact I discovered when I slid the pages apart and a large clump of confetti burst out. I slammed it closed as celebratory music began playing, echoing throughout the ward. "Oh, stop laughing!"

George gasped for breath as he clutched at his sides. "You-should have seen-your face!"

"I'll kick you out if you don't tell me what that is," I said threateningly, gesturing to the fruit.

"I dunno, do I? Maybe it says somewhere on the card," he suggested.

After casting a silencing spell on it, I tentatively opened it once more. Sure enough, at the bottom of the right page, it read,

'_Dear Prudence, I heard what happened, and I just wanted to say I hope you feel better soon! Whoever did it, I'm sure it's because of the wrackspurts; they seem to have multiplied lately. They've congregated outside the Great Hall, so be careful to always enter through the left side! I sent a Dirigible Plum along with the card, because they're supposed to be very good for healing.'_

George let out a snort of laughter. "A Dirigible Plum? It looks more like someone transfigured a parrot into a glob of clay."

"Don't be rude, she's sweet. She means well," I said fondly, setting her card down beside Ginny and Hermione's. The plum I placed back in the drawer.

Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, their roommate Janice Featherby who I had potions with, and Katie Bell had sent over their well wishes too. Their card was decorated in Hufflepuff colors and included funny anecdotes from the classes I had missed. I laughed aloud when I read about Martin accidentally evaporating his fingernails when he'd tried to brew a Cloning Concoction.

Noel's gift was by far my favorite; she had enchanted a jar of roses to glitter in the sunlight, and they were flourishing nicely on the windowsill behind me. Lee and the twins, of course, had brought me tons of butterbeer and chocolate that I had been unable to eat while unconscious, and he claimed it was a total mystery where it had gone to, before admitting that they had gotten very bored on Sunday afternoon.

A lot of DA members had sent over candy as well: Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones, two fifth years in my house, had given me a box of chocolate frogs. Ginny's boyfriend Michael Corner and his friends Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein provided me with some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, which George happily munched on until he came across a lint-flavored one. Gemma had brought over a long letter on Monday morning for me to read when I woke up, which I set aside for later. I didn't want to read it in front of George.

Professor Sprout had even gotten in on it; I found a small card attached to a pot of a Self-Fertilizing Shrub. It had been placed well away from the flowers Noel had brought; apparently it had tried to strangle the roses, and now seemed to be sulking.

"This is the last one," George said as he handed me a slip of parchment and a large container of assorted Honeydukes products. There were Ice Mice, Licorice Wands, Pumpkin Pasties, Sugared Butterfly Wings, even some Jelly Slugs and Cockroach Clusters.

My eyes widened as I saw the inscription. "Harry sent this?"

I didn't think that he of all people would care that I was in the Hospital Wing; after all, our only interactions had been through the few DA meetings we'd had this year, and even then it had been limited.

'_Prudence, I know how dull the Hospital Wing can be, so I thought this might provide a bit of a distraction for you. Cheers, Harry.'_

"He must like you," George said through a mouthful of sugar.

"Yeah, that or he feels guilty since I was Cedric's friend and he was the last one to see him alive," I muttered without thinking. George stopped chewing. "Sorry."

He shook his head vigorously. "No, no. You should feel free to talk about him as much as you want. Get it all out in the open."

But I shook my head. Instead, I told George to get some rest in the bed beside me, and when he obliged, I dragged out Gemma's letter, which I strained to read in the dim lighting.

_Prudence,_

_I hope this letter finds you all right; I sealed it with a charm that only lets you read it, but I wouldn't put anything past the Weasley twins. They're surprisingly sharp. Look, I know we're not great friends or anything, but for what it's worth, I know what really happened and I'm sorry. _

_I caught Montague bragging about it to Malfoy and Zabini, so I went to Snape to tell him what I heard. As you can imagine, it didn't go well. I may be in his house, but he sure doesn't like me. In fact, he basically threw me out of his office. I got this odd sort of feeling that he was reading my mind. I wouldn't be completely shocked if he was an Occlumens. _

_I'm pretty positive that he knows what Montague did, especially if he __**does **__know Occlumency, but he won't punish him unless Dumbledore finds out, which he won't because the entirety of Slytherin house is behind him. It's sickening how much they all care about their damn quidditch players. All they want is to win the House Cup, and they'll do anything to make sure Montague can still play. I'm really sorry. I tried._

_-Gemma _

That certainly explained a lot. It told me everything that I had been thinking. Firstly, that Gemma was a good person. Secondly, that Montague was being protected. Thirdly, that Snape knew Occlumency, something I'd suspected ever since I'd learned about the skill of mind reading in Charms two years ago.

I felt an odd sense of calm. A normal person would be angered by this, maybe even outraged. They would have fought it. Anarchy, riot, and all that. But I just wanted this entire ordeal to be over so I could get back to my regular life.

With a glance over to George, who was snoring gracefully, his long legs dangling off the end of the bed, I shook my head and pulled my Transfiguration book off the top of the pile. I certainly wouldn't be able to sleep, so I might as well do this.

* * *

><p>"For the last time Fred, <em>no <em>kidnapping!" I snapped, clutching at my forehead. I'd spent the entirety of my morning being pestered by Madam Pomfrey, taking a total of eight more potions and being prodded in places I didn't know I could be prodded.

Then, while everyone else was still in class, I went back over half of the pile of work that Noel had done for me, to ensure that I wouldn't be behind when I started back up again. Around 4 o'clock, Noel, Lee, and the twins had burst into the ward, and despite Pomfrey's warnings, had squeezed and ruffled me until I was nearly crying from pain. It had then turned into a debate about how best to get back at Montague.

"But you said-"

Noel rolled her eyes. "Weasley, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

They all stared at her. "…what?"

"Don't get philosophical on them, they'd never come out of it alive," I muttered, fingering the braided strands of my hair. When she'd arrived, after she'd smacked me around a bit for scaring her like that, she had washed, brushed, and styled my hair for me. I felt much less like a bum now.

"Oi," George said indignantly. "Are you trying to say we're not smart?"

I shrugged. "At least not in the formal sense of the word."

Lee propped his feet up on the end of my bed and put his arms behind his head. "You're absolutely brutal, Turner. Bru-tal."

"No one's keeping you here," I replied innocently, batting my eyes. Of course, I wanted them all to stay. The Hospital Wing was dreadfully boring when there were no quidditch matches going on. I was the only occupant, which gave Madam Pomfrey far too much time to dote on me.

Lee rolled his eyes in a scarily accurate impression of Noel and tossed a chocolate frog up in the air, catching it between his teeth. "Anyway, what are we going to do about the DA meeting?"

"Just leave it up to us!" George declared with a wink.

Harry had sent out a message several hours ago on the coin. He would be holding another meeting this Sunday at 8, and I was still going to be under Pomfrey's watchful eye.

"Don't do anything that will get me into trouble. I have enough on my plate without having to serve detention too." I scowled and sunk back further into my pillows.

Both twins placed their hands over their hearts and said in perfect unison, "wouldn't dream of it, love!"

"Right," I grouched. Noel's lips twitched.

* * *

><p>The closer the time drew to 8 o'clock, the more on edge I became. Late last night, George had snuck my wand out of Pomfrey's office and brought it back to me, where I'd promptly stored it underneath my pillow. I had at first tried to convince the healer to let me out early, telling her I had a club gathering I had to attend, but she had simply glowered and gone on a rant about how no one cared about proper health in this school.<p>

Therefore, after relaying the information to Noel, a plan had been formed to break me out of the Hospital Wing for two hours so I wouldn't have to miss the DA meeting. At 7:35, I was to create a small rain storm within Madam Pomfrey's office to distract her. Hopefully she would never suspect me, since she thought she was still in possession of my wand. Once she was inside trying to tame the situation, the twins were going to come in with a fifth year they had paid to be my look-a-like for the evening.

The girl, who Noel would transfigure to appear eerily similar to me, was to act asleep if Pomfrey came to check on her, although the rain storm should keep her occupied for at least an hour, by which point she would probably be tired and would just retire to her sleeping quarters.

As the minute hand surpassed the small '6' along the bottom of the clock, I slid my wand out from beneath my pillow. "Show time," I whispered, pointing it carefully at the sliver of space between the door and its frame.

Madam Pomfrey let out a yelp of surprise, and the door was slammed shut as a crack of thunder rattled the floor of the entire ward. George's head popped through the entrance and I gave him a thumbs up. He, along with Fred, ushered a Ravenclaw named Lisa Turpin through the Hospital Wing hurriedly, and I eagerly hopped out of bed, already dressed in a fresh skirt and blouse that Noel had brought me. This was the first time in days I was adorned in something other than my hospital gown.

"Just remember, if she tries to speak to you, act like you're sleeping, and if she tries to force you, just nod 'yes,' or 'no.'" I told her in a hushed voice. Fred gestured for me to hurry. "We'll be back at 10:15. Good luck, and thanks!"

George grabbed my elbow and propelled me along, Fred bringing up the rear. Lee and Noel were waiting outside in the corridor, and the five of us set off as quickly as we could for the seventh floor.

"Hey guys?" I called softly a mere twenty feet later, stopping in my tracks. "My legs aren't really working."

My shoulders slumped in defeat as I tried to lift them. "They're all numb. I can't move."

"Not a problem, love," George said, and knelt down in front of me. "Weasley Piggy-Backing at your service."

I blinked. "You can't be serious."

"He is serious, and we're wasting time. Do you want to be late?" Noel snapped.

With a sigh, I wrapped my arms timidly around George's neck, and he grabbed my legs and gripped beneath my lower thighs. I could hardly feel his hands, and I tried hard not to panic. The four of them continued walking, this time with the pace a bit faster, and I buried my head in his back as a few tears streamed down my cheek.

"You're going to be fine, trust me. Your body just can't handle too much physical exertion yet, it's recovering. I know you know this, there's no use pretending. Besides, think how much fun you'll have when we get there. I heard we might start working on patronuses," George confided quietly as the others bickered about which short cut was the fastest.

I squirmed in an attempt to readjust myself. "I know, you're right. It's just so bloody frustrating. I hate playing patient. It's so…helpless."

"If all goes well tonight, you'll be back in classes tomorrow!" he said cheerfully. "And look, we made it!"

George continued to hold me as Fred jogged back and forth lightly until the large, mahogany door appeared. We all glanced backwards to make sure no one was watching us, and we disappeared through it one by one.

"Hey everyone, Prudence is here!" Ginny called out as George carefully set me down into a chair that Noel conjured. There was an explosion of cheering and applause, and several people rushed over.

"Prudence, you're back!" Alicia said happily, patting me on the back.

Angelina examined me in a motherly fashion. "You should really still be resting. Of course, I'm glad you're here."

"Did you get our card?" Katie asked eagerly, playing with the end of her long plait.

I took a deep breath as I attempted to focus on them. There was so much noise and chatter in the expansive room that it was hard to keep my attention in one place. "Oh, yes, thank you guys. It was really nice to wake up to that."

They all grinned and gave me a few more pats on the arm and shoulder before wandering off to chatter with a couple of Ravenclaws who were tossing a ball of green fire back and forth. I waved at Luna happily as Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked over.

"You look terrible," Ron observed, eyeing my sweaty brow and pallid skin.

Hermione whacked him. "Honestly Ron, she was in the Hospital Wing! We're really glad you're here Prudence," she finished kindly.

"Thanks for the card," I mumbled shyly. "Oh, and you too, Harry."

Harry scratched the back of his neck. "It was no problem. I've spent far too much time in there, I know how awful it can be."

"You two sent cards?" Ron asked angrily, a beat behind the conversation. "How come no one asked me to sign one?"

I exchanged a quick grin with Hermione before I ducked out of the conversation, managing my way across the room and catching Fred and Lee in the middle of a story about Kenneth's sleep-talking. Ginny, her boyfriend Michael, and Ernie Macmillan were roaring in laughter.

"Thanks for sneaking me out," I said to George as I grabbed onto his arm for support. "I needed this."

He winked at me as Harry clapped his hands, calling for everyone's attention. "All right guys, today, we're going to be working on casting a full, corporeal patronus! No, I don't want to hear that. No great witch or wizard every accomplished anything right away…"

My relinquished my hold on George and clasped the book charm, unsure whether or not my hands were shaking from fear or excitement.

"Okay, let's get started!" Harry said, and the crowd dispersed.

This time, Luna came to me. "Partners?" she asked in her dreamy voice.

"Definitely," I grinned. "Hey, I wanted to thank you for the card by the way, it was my favorite."

Her face lit up.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hi everyone, thanks so much for reading! I'll love you to the moon and back if you just drop a quick review to let me know your thoughts! Up next: Prudence returns to classes, Lee is lovesick, and Gemma is Noel's long lost twin sister. Just kidding about the last bit, but seriously, stay tuned!**


	14. A Double-Edged Sword

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR!**

* * *

><p>"Damnit!" I cried, flinging my wand onto my bed in frustration. Noel poked her head out of the bathroom where she was going through her nightly beauty routine. I could barely see the counter beneath all of her lotions, potions, and makeup bottles.<p>

"Prudence, it's only been a week since you got hit with that curse. You just got discharged from the Hospital Wing this morning! Obviously your magical strength is going to be weakened," she reasoned as she dabbed at her skin with a white cotton pad. Layers of foundation scrubbed off, revealing the galaxy of freckles spread across her cheeks.

I sighed. "I know, I just really want to be able to do this. I've been wanting to learn what my patronus is since I was thirteen. I mean, I think it has hooves of some kind…I just hope it's a horse and not something like a goat or a sheep."

Grace, who had walked in a short time ago and proceeded to barricade herself behind her bed hangings, snorted. "I think a sheep would suit you perfectly."

Without a word, Noel stormed out of the bathroom and ripped the curtains apart, fixing Grace with a cold-hearted stare. "You know Grace, it's a really good thing no one fucking asked you, or else I would have to point out that if, and only if, you're ever magically capable of a full corporeal patronus, which I highly doubt since you only made it to NEWT level thanks to me, you'd be lucky to have a sheep be yours."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she hissed, trying to straighten out her hair. She obviously hadn't expected Noel's attack, even though she'd been raring for one. Noel had been ignoring her goading for weeks.

"Let's see, you're weak-minded, desperate, crave attention in all the wrong places, have no problem cutting ties with people who have stuck by you through thick and thin, blindly follow others for no reason other than they have a nice bum and play quidditch, you're not too intelligent – what was it, three OWLs? – and you have no real friends because you're so vain and vapid that no one actually knows what you're really like. I think a rat would be perfect for you," Noel said evenly, not looking the least bit shaky, even though I could cut the tension in the air with a knife.

Grace tossed down her magazine and stood, the strap of her silk nightgown slipping down her arm. "Of course, who can speak down to someone like that? Only the great Noel Dalton! Perfect body, perfect mind. Oh but wait, this is the girl who had no problem shagging Patrick behind my back despite her "love" for Martin. That's pretty shallow and heartless. Perhaps a crocodile for you, dear?"

"You didn't even like Patrick, you just wanted ties to a quidditch player and access to his money. He pursued me for an entire year – that's right! And I ignored it because of you, but you never made a move, you were far too interested in all the Durmstrang boys, so I finally decided to do something for myself. You'll have to let it go eventually, or else you'll wind up a bitter, lonely, old, hag." Despite her plain face, messy hair, and lack of height without her heels on, Noel still managed to radiate power and confidence.

I sat, propped up on my elbows on my bed, afraid to move lest I be noticed and brought into the argument.

"At least the Durmstrang boys paid attention to me. You couldn't get Martin after six years of trying, and you couldn't hold on to Patrick. Now all you've got is some ugly, pathetic loser who drools like a dog every time he sees you." The smugness in Grace's eyes shone through in a cloud of utter cruelty.

Noel was not deterred. "I _dumped _Patrick you complete and total bint! Or did you conveniently forget that part, like you conveniently forgot that you fancied Lee for the better part of the past three years? You spread rumors about Alicia Spinnet's sexuality because you were so jealous he took her to the Yule Ball. When will the jealousy and lies end with you?"

Grace tossed back her blonde mane. "Jealous?" she sniffed. "There's not much to be jealous of. All I see is a girl with a psychotic mother, whose only friend is a socially incapacitated loser, and got knocked up by her boyfriend who dumped her the second something better came along."

Silence. It rung in my ears as Noel's arms dropped to her sides. The look of defeat on her face gripped my insides like a vice. Then, without warning, her right hand flew up and smacked Grace clear across the face. "If you _ever_ bring that up again, I will put you in the Hospital Wing, and don't think I won't. I could kill you right now, you little-"

"NOEL!" I screamed, finally coming to my senses. "Noel, stop. She could take these threats to Sprout and you could get in serious trouble," I pleaded, hoping she would see reason. I'd never been scared of her until now. I was admittedly thankful that her wand was six feet away on her desk.

"She wouldn't dare," Noel said, speaking to me but looking at her, an ominous glint in her eye. "With all the rules she's broken over the years, which I, along with dozens of other people, were eyewitnesses to, I could get her suspended indefinitely, maybe even expelled."

Grace, one hand to her cheek, grabbed her wand and magazine. "You're fucking crazy. If you want to hit me again, I'll be sleeping with _Martin_. Make sure you knock first."

Without even throwing on a robe or putting on shoes, Grace stalked out the door and down the hall, her self-righteous huffs echoing in the tunnel. "Noel, did you leave out a huge portion of the conversation when you were explaining your relationship with Dash to me?"

"I took care of it," she said stiffly, sitting down on her bed. Some sort of odd gasping sound escaped me. "It happened in the spring of his seventh year. He'd just gotten a deal with the Tornadoes, and he brought me into his room to tell me that he was dumping me effective immediately. When I tried to leave, he locked the door. Guess he thought he could have his cake and eat it too."

Suddenly she crumpled, her body wracking with silent sobs. Stunned, I crossed the space between our beds, settling beside her and rubbing her back. "Noel, it's okay," I said quietly. "Everything is going to be okay."

Wordlessly, she curled up beside me and wept into my lap, drenching my cotton pajama pants in her tears. I continued to soothe her the best that I could, wondering what else had happened right under my nose, wondering how I had been so oblivious to the pain that Noel had been carrying for two years.

* * *

><p>"Morning," I said with a yawn as I slumped down next to George. A steaming cup of tea was already waiting for me, its smoky tendrils curling up to the ceiling. I took a sip gratefully, reveling in the taste of caffeine. Noel had kept me up fairly late last night, not that I really minded. It was nice to know she felt so connected with me that she would trust me enough to let her guard down like that.<p>

Lee's brow furrowed. "Why are you alone? Where's Noel?"

Fred snorted into his pancakes. "Never miss a beat, do you?"

"He's probably got a sensor that goes off every time she comes within fifty feet of him," George added with a smirk.

"Perhaps we should invent that!" A greedy gleam had taken residence in Fred's eyes.

George rubbed his palms together eagerly. "We could make so much money!"

Ignoring them both, I decided to humor Lee. "She's not feeling well. She'll be in bed all day, I expect."

"I can bring her soup! And read trashy magazines to her! And give her foot rubs and stuff! Oi, why didn't you say something sooner?" Lee demanded, already half out of his seat.

With a sigh, I set down my cup of tea. "Lee, that's sweet and all, but she _really _wants to be alone. You know, she doesn't want anyone to see her looking anything less than perfect." I threw in the last bit to make it seem more plausible. It appeared to work, because both Fred and George rolled their eyes and returned to their breakfasts.

"Well I don't want to upset her," Lee said sadly. "I guess maybe…I'll just stop by after classes are over?"

He looked like a puppy that had just been abandoned by its mother. "I'm sure that would be fine," I said finally. Hopefully Noel could pull it together by that point. She'd ignored all of my attempts to get her out of bed this morning; not even my threats of letting Grace win could get her attention. I gave up after thirty minutes and simply refilled her water glass before I left, placing it next to a box of tissues. Was that the kind of thing you did for a friend? I didn't know. It's what I would want if our roles were reversed.

"Let's head to charms, shall we?" George suggested smoothly, having finally decided to stop taking the mickey out of his friend.

Fred nodded and rose, stuffing several biscuits into his mouth as he did so. I didn't miss the look of disgust that came from Angelina, and neither did he. He winked at her and flipped her hair over her shoulder playfully. Lee continued to look miserable.

"He _really _fancies her, doesn't he?" I asked George under my breath.

"Poor bloke. Sometimes he says her name in his sleep," he confided, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets.

I blinked. Noel and Lee had been snogging and all that, but I didn't think Noel really took it as anything more than a fling. Besides, with Dash's reappearance, I didn't think she was all too fond of the idea of another serious relationship. "This is bad."

"He's going to get his hopeful little heart crushed," George agreed with a nod.

There was an uncomfortably large pit of guilt in my stomach that contracted every time Lee's eyes wandered to Noel's empty seat.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for meeting me," I said quietly as I hurried her into the kitchens. The Slytherins had been extremely nasty ever since Montague had put me into the Hospital Wing, and I didn't like walking around much on my own.<p>

The Slytherins had been boisterous and rowdy lately; there was more energy there, but it was a negative energy. One that seemed threatening, almost…ominous. They no longer walked the corridors with scowls upon their faces, but strutted past us with smirks, like they knew something we didn't. It made me nervous.

Today had been my first potions class since the incident, which meant it was the first time I'd had to see him. He had actually tried to take a seat at our table; Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Janice, and Lee had hurriedly filled in all the empty spots much to my relief. Snape, of course, docked 10 points away from Gryffindor for disturbing the peace and getting in his way (even though he was sitting at his desk), but it was nice to feel protected.

"Of course," Gemma said briskly, settling into one of two chairs by a corner table. She crossed her legs, revealing stylish, black heeled boots, and smoothed her hair down. "It's been awful in the common room lately. Everyone's crowing on and on about Umbridge. Malfoy keeps saying how it won't be long until Dumbledore's gone, and I don't know what he means by that."

I could suddenly feel my heart beating in my throat. "Gone? Like…Azkaban? Or killed? There's no way the Death Eaters would come after him. That would be a suicide mission."

Gemma didn't look convinced. "I'm a half-blood like you, so I'm considered an outsider, but even I know that some of the children of You-Know-Who's inner circle live here, and I'm sure they have a better idea than anyone what's going on. Something's being planned, I know it. They're all behaving so oddly."

"So you think something is happening too? Or is about to happen?" I asked her eagerly.

"Prudence…Cedric didn't just die in that maze. It was the Avada Kedavra curse, a Death Eater specialty. None of the other people who were in that maze had cast that spell; their wands were checked. And there were professors walking the perimeter, they would have heard or seen _something,_" she reasoned. "That's why I believe the Potter kid about the whole portkey thing. Who would make that up? They'd have to be sick in the head."

I placed my hands lightly on the table, trying to keep them from shaking. Even now, hearing his death mentioned casually made me tremble. I got the urge to cry but swallowed it, blinking my eyes furiously. "Yes but, you think he's back, don't you? You-Know-Who?"

She was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, I think he's back. I don't know how, just that he is. The Slytherins are different this year. Of course the younger ones have no idea what's going on, but Montague, Pucey, and Flint especially have been walking around like kings. They love Umbridge too; listen, she was a Slytherin when she went here. She's published articles about the importance of bloodline purity for the Prophet, and been vocal about wanting to change the schooling policy in the past. She's not a Death Eater, but she's definitely on their side."

I scoffed. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"We should be grateful for Fudge, actually. He won't be around forever. Whoever comes after him is going to be worse, especially if the wizarding world stays in denial," Gemma said with a shrug. Her face remained impassive, but her foot was tapping the floor nervously.

"Gemma, how do you know so much about this?" This was all very odd. Here was a Slytherin, sitting witha Hufflepuff and discussing the return of the wizarding world's greatest villain without any relish or desire.

Her fingers moved nimbly as she tied her dark hair into a loose chignon. "My father. He went to school with Umbridge, was in her year. And he never bought into the heritage bollocks, so he was always going against her and getting her in trouble with professors. I must be the only Slytherin she's chucked into detention."

My eyes strayed to her left hand, where tiny, pink lines were etched into her skin like an infected tattoo. "What did you do?"

"I interfered when Malfoy and his thugs were trying to dock points from a first year for being Muggle-born, and I ended up having to jinx them to avoid getting cursed myself," she said with a sigh.

"Hogwarts isn't home anymore." The words sat in the air for a moment as I stared into the roaring flames of the fire.

Gemma nodded. "Trelawney's probably going to be gone soon. And now that Hagrid's back, I'm sure she'll find a reason to get rid of him."

I rubbed my eyes in frustration. I was sick of trying to piece together some big conspiracy theory; I just wanted to graduate and get into Healing school. "But why would she want to do that? Why does she care?"

"Prudence, she's not here to keep an eye on Dumbledore, she's here to get rid of him. Fudge can't have anyone challenging him, or else he's going to be ousted in a day. But if he's able to keep Dumbledore from convincing people we're in danger, his sacred position is safe. Umbridge is cutting off all of Dumbledore's legs so to speak, anyone who is important to him or helps him. She'll probably try for McGonagall too, but we both know that's never going to happen."

I took out a scrap of parchment and a quill from my bag, scrawling down everything that Gemma had just told me. The clues that I had been piecing together to find out what happened to Cedric had spiraled into an entire investigation of the return of You-Know-Who. I now had twelve pieces of parchment all glued together to form one giant poster, with lines drawn from news articles to quotes from text books to every fleeting thought I've had in the past three months.

After several minutes of scribbling onto the paper, I looked up to find her staring at me. "What?"

"Are you sure you weren't supposed to be in Ravenclaw?" she asked, eyeing my notes. Even my jottings were neat and organized.

I shrugged. "The Sorting Hat told me I could be in Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor. I knew I wouldn't be smart enough to keep up with the Ravenclaws and I wouldn't fit in with the Gryffindors because I just wanted to keep to myself. The table of kids dressed in yellow looked so calm and orderly in comparison to the rest of the hall, so I chose Hufflepuff."

"Not Slytherin though, eh?" she asked. I shook my head.

She hummed slightly, turning her gaze towards the fire as she sat back. "I don't think you have a dark bone in your body, Turner."

I shifted uncomfortably. "Perhaps."

* * *

><p>I returned to my dormitory that night to find Noel still lying in bed. She looked virtually unchanged from the position she was in this morning. Grace's bed had not been disturbed.<p>

"How are you feeling?" I asked gently as I sat at the foot of her bed.

Noel's strawberry blonde mane was greasy and unkempt, and she had large bags beneath her eyes. "Great."

We were quiet for a moment. "Did Lee stop in today?"

"Yep. Sent him away after fifteen minutes. Bloody annoying."

I didn't want to respond to that statement, so I changed the topic. "Do you think that you could manage a shower? I think it'd make you feel better," I coaxed. She shrugged. "Come on Noel, this isn't you. You don't mope or sulk or pity yourself. You always find a way to keep going."

Noel grumbled inaudibly and I tugged her quilt down. With a sigh, she slid her feet onto the carpet and shuffled into the bathroom. Once I heard the tell-tale squeak of the shower knob, I dug a pair of fresh pajamas out of her wardrobe and set them on her bed, then changed her sheets, which the house elves had been unable to do this morning as she hadn't left it.

This taking care of someone else was second nature to me. I'd been doing it for my mother for years, although she never recognized that I was there. As Noel shuffled out of the bathroom a few minutes later, her hair dripping down her back, I handed her the clothes wordlessly, retreating to my own bed.

I tried to speak to her when she came out fully dressed, but she turned off the lights and climbed back under her covers, yanking her hangings shut. With a sigh I did the same and rolled onto my side. What was I supposed to do?

Squeezing my eyes shut, I gripped at the locket and wondered what my mother would do. Wondered if she'd ever had a similar situation with her best friend, Amelia Bones. Maybe things would be better in the morning.

The next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake by a frustrated Noel. "Get your lazy arse up, Turner! We've got Charms first thing and I didn't do my homework. I need to copy yours at breakfast."

"Noel, you always have your homework done... Am I to assume you're feeling better?" I yawned and tried to rub the sleep out of my eyes, blearily looking up at her from my position under my warm covers. Too early.

"I didn't do my homework yesterday, obviously." She rolled her eyes. "Now get up or I'll make you."

As she brandished her wand, which seemed to wink at me in a forbidding fashion. I leapt out of bed so quickly I may as well have been competing for the national gymnastics team. "Just let me get dressed okay? I'd quite like to stay dry."

Fifteen minutes later I was yanking on my second shoe as I tried to follow Noel out the door. She was storming down the hall in her highest but most school appropriate shoes (black wedges) and had done a full blowout on her hair. If this were a film, I would be the pimply, glasses-ridden teenager stumbling around after their model-esque best mate.

I had no idea how Noel went from one extreme to the other so quickly, but I didn't really have time to dwell on it. "Oi, slow down please, I'm only half dressed!" I hissed after her, doing up the last button on my shirt and slinging my tie around my neck.

"Yeah, no one wants to see that," Patrick drawled from an arm chair. Noel stopped abruptly and turned to him, ready to fight in her typical fashion, but I pressed my hand to her arm. She'd already defended me once against Grace and had holed herself up in bed for an entire day as a result.

With a sigh, I finished knotting my tie and turned to him. "Come on Patrick. You're better than that. You're not cruel or petty. You're smart and athletic and loyal. You're a Hufflepuff. So act like it."

My hands shook as I forced myself to keep walking, and I wrapped them in the straps of my satchel to steady them. If that's what standing up for yourself was like, I wasn't sure I would ever do it again. My heart was racing at the speed of light.

"Okay, what was that?" Noel demanded as she caught up to me. "Since when are you no longer afraid of your own shadow?"

"Leave me alone, Noel!" I barked at her as we hastened across the Entrance Hall. She raised a brow. "Sorry. But you shouldn't mock me for being afraid of things. Most people are afraid of something."

She nodded thoughtfully, then without another word walked over to the Gryffindor bench and slid in beside Lee, who was so thrilled that he choked on his muffin.

"Prudence talked back to Patrick," Noel announced to the table with a flip of her hair. She ignored my glare and instead began to spoon some porridge into a bowl.

"Did she now?" George asked, his eyes following my methodical movement of tea making.

I refused to look up at him. "He was being petty and rude, and I'm tired of it. Why are we all mocking each other? Why do we feel the need to tear each other apart and make everyone feel small? If we're about to have a war, you'd think we should be focusing on banding together."

"Hear hear!" Fred cried gallantly, lifting his goblet of pumpkin juice into the air with so much gusto that it sloshed over the sides and splattered across Ginny's hair. She punched him and then dumped her eggs into his lap.

"You lot are no better!" I said, cutting off George who had begun to open his mouth. Fred brushed the eggs onto the floor. "You've been on my case like crazy lately about Gemma."

Lee set down his fork. "Because you can't trust a Slytherin, no matter what they say! One of them put you in the bloody Hospital Wing, Prudence."

"Thanks for reminding me, but funnily enough I hadn't forgotten," I stated bitterly. Ginny snorted. "And yes, _one _of them. If every single student that was in Slytherin house left school and became seriously evil and depraved, we wouldn't be functioning as a society. Just because the colors of your robes are scarlet doesn't mean you have to be a prejudiced git."

They all fell silent. George was looking at me so intensely that I blushed and brought my gaze to my tea. I pretended that stirring the tea bag was the most interesting thing in the world.

Noel, whose eyes had been narrowed, straightened up suddenly as the mail arrived. "Oh, excellent! That'll be my mother with her answer."

"Answer about what?" Fred asked through a mouthful of bread.

"The Christmas holidays, Fred," she responded with a roll of her eyes, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He mimicked her dramatically while she untied a scroll of parchment from the leg of an exquisite looking screech owl.

My heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach. The holidays were very nearly here. While most people loved them, I hated them. I never went home if I could help it, which meant I resided in a practically empty castle. My father could care less where I was or what I was doing, and if I had to ask him to pick me up at King's Cross then I feared for his reaction. Not to mention, the only person I had ever exchanged a gift with in the past fourteen years wasn't here. I would never get to watch his face light up as though I had just purchased him the moon. I took a hasty sip of tea and winced as the heat burned my throat.

"I suppose you'll be going home, then?" I inquired as politely as I could, trying not to sound hostile.

Noel cocked her head. "Yes, and you'll be coming too."

I blinked. "Erm, what?"

"Just read this and try not to have a brain aneurysm," she said with a smirk as she handed me the letter.

_Hello Darling!_

_I'm so thrilled you'll be coming home this year, I was terribly sad when you decided to stay at school last year for that fancy tournament. Your father and I are well, we just got back from our cruise in the Bahamas and we are so tan you won't even recognize us!_

_Anyway, if your new friend wants to come home with you, that's fine by me. I ran it by your father, and he says he'll have the guest room closest to yours prepared immediately. What does she like to eat? Drink? Read? How does she dress? We can send Marinella out to buy some things tomorrow._

_I've got to go, sugarbunch, I've got a meeting with a florist in twenty minutes and I don't have the power of disappearing and reappearing wherever I want like you and your father!_

_Kisses,_

_Mum_

A slow smile spread across my face. "Noel, I didn't even know you'd asked."

"Yes, well, what good would it do if you were bored and stuck at school and I was bored and stuck at home? At least this way we'll be bored together," she said in a drawling voice, looking extremely satisfied with herself.

I suppressed an excited giggle and squelched my laughter with a sip of tea.

"Shall we go to class?" George asked finally, offering me his arm. I took it and followed him out of the hall, practically bouncing as I walked. I couldn't remember the last time I was so happy.

"Ow! Noel, was that necessary?" Lee asked as he whimpered in pain.

I could hear her eye roll as she trailed after us. "You should know better than to get handsy with me in public."

Lee grunted to himself and sped up his walk until his pace was even with ours.

"Ouch," I said with a shake of my head.

"Brutal, mate," George agreed from my other side.

He sulked. "You guys are mean."

Fred batted his lashes at him.

* * *

><p>"George, if you don't quit playing with my hair, then I'm going to throw you out!" I threatened, whacking his hand away for the seventh time.<p>

"I'm sorry, it's just so silky," he said, letting it fall between his fingertips.

He had insisted on walking me back to my dormitory after classes. Thanks to Montague, I no longer did my homework in the library, and if I was testing products for the twins, they brought them here. Today, however, it was just George and I. Fred was off somewhere with Angelina and I was fairly sure that Lee and Noel were occupying the hidden corridor behind the tapestry of Erg the Effervescent.

I leaned my head against his arm, suddenly exhausted. I was getting back all of my magical abilities, but it was still draining to perform magic, and Charms seemed extra long this morning because of it.

George patted the top of my head. "You want me to leave?"

"No," I yawned, and he snorted. "I don't want to sleep. I've still got Transfiguration to do." My eyes drifted to the half-done paper that lay on my end-side table. I'd abandoned it when George had suggested a game of Exploding Snap earlier.

"So what happened with Noel?" he asked. "I mean, what is she doing? One minute she's sick and the next she's an angel from hell and storming the castle, literally."

I shrugged, my right arm only coming up halfway as it was pressed against his side. "She's…being brave. I wish I was as brave as her. She should honestly be in Gryffindor with you lot."

George shook his head as I yawned again. "You are brave. I'll prove it to you. BOO!"

"George!" I scowled as I jumped, retrieving my wand which had rolled onto the floor.

"Really though, you're plenty brave. What makes you think you're not?" he asked.

We'd been having more of these serious conversations ever since I'd told him about my mother. I hoped it lasted. It made me feel better to get my thoughts out in the open. "Well for starters, I'm afraid of almost everything. People, places, things, if it's a noun I'm probably terrified of it."

He was quiet for a few seconds, as though he were thinking carefully about his words. "I think it takes a lot more courage to live with fear than to live without it. Being fearless doesn't make you any better. It just makes you more likely to die a horrific, horrific death."

"You're a lunatic."

George winked. "And you love it."

The thing was, I did.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: DUN DUN DUNNNNN, did Prudence really just admit that?!**

**I am SO sorry I've been gone for two weeks. I just wasn't in the right mental state to write anything even vaguely comedic. I was in a slump I guess you could say. But I'm back and better than ever, so get ready for the decorating of the castle, the Christmas holidays, meeting Noel's parents, and oh yes, that little part where Arthur gets attacked. I love you all and if anyone is still reading please drop me a review and make me smile (EVEN THOUGH I DON'T DESERVE IT).**


	15. Overwhelmed

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. The quote in italics towards the middle of the chapter is from Toni Morrison's, The Bluest Eye, which I also do not own but highly recommend you read. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Your other left," I told Martin through gritted teeth, trying to keep my temper in check.<p>

With a roll of his eyes, the quidditch player raised the gigantic Christmas wreath on the opposite side.

"Not my fault you can't think on a pre-school level," I muttered under my breath, wandering over to Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan.

Hannah waved cheerfully from beneath an armful of boughs. "Hi Prudence! Where should these go?"

"Erm…over there, I think, where Charles is hanging things over the door." The prefects were in charge of decorating the castle, and as not all of the younger prefects were adept at locomotion and semi-permanent sticking charms, Jennifer had insisted that we do everything the Muggle way.

All it was doing for me was making me feel ill. My head was pounding, my throat burned, and I shivered every other minute. It didn't help that the Hufflepuff prefects were doing most of the work; Gemma was the only Slytherin prefect who actually showed up, most of the Ravenclaws claimed they were too busy studying to decorate, and many of the Gryffindors, like Ron, were goofing around.

"Ron! Focus please, and help me with this snowflake. The glitter keeps falling off!" Hermione admonished as Ron created a beard out of pinecones and holly.

"I finished hanging all of the wreaths. Should I get started on the fake snow?" Martin asked stiffly. We had been doing our rounds separately since the falling out in September, and this was the first time we had been forced to interact since then. It wasn't going too well.

I glanced around the Entrance Hall, trying to ignore the throbbing at the back of my skull. "Yes, that would be good. Then after that, Hagrid will be needing help with the trees in the Great Hall."

"Yes _ma'am_," he said sarcastically, and turned on his heel. I held my hands up in the air as though to strangle him, and heard laughter from behind me.

"I would be like that as well if Pucey was actually here," Gemma said. "Fortunately for me, I believe he's sleeping off his hangover in the dungeons. Perhaps it's best that way; my silencing spells last for hours, and I get tired of his voice very quickly."

We shared a grin. She was the only thing making this process tolerable. "At least we're almost done. Charles is putting the finishing touches on."

"Thank Merlin," she replied, and we both turned around in time to see a massive drift of snow swirl down from the ceiling and bury two Ravenclaws beneath it.

"MARTIN!" Jennifer bellowed from her place atop the Grand Staircase. She flung her clipboard aside and stalked down the steps toward the frightened quidditch player, her face already an angry shade of red.

Just at this moment, Fred and George wandered around the corner casually. "Prudence love!" Fred cried jovially.

"Did you guys just frame Martin?" I asked dryly, folding my arms across my chest.

"Why yes, we did!" they said together, exchanging a gleeful look.

Gemma snorted. "Where's an Order of Merlin when you need one?"

I tensed as the twins' attention turned to her. They had been slightly less vocal about their hatred for all of Slytherin house since I had scolded them, but had not yet missed an opportunity to glare at her whenever we were together.

"I don't believe we've met." George offered his hand, his voice now empty of mirth.

I breathed a sigh of relief as Gemma carefully took his hand and shook it. "Gemma Farley."

Fred presented his hand as well, and then Gemma left to help unearth the Ravenclaw prefects, whose heads were now sticking out of the pile of snow. The girl was wailing.

"Thank you," I said quietly, and the both nodded before a violent shiver overtook my body. "Eurgh."

"Are you cold? Take my jumper," George said as he shrugged off his sweater, handing it to me.

I accepted it, my cheeks warm, and slid it on. "I think I'm getting sick. I feel awful."

The twins winced as I let out a forceful sneeze. "I think we'll be going then," Fred said nervously.

"Feel free to keep the sweater…or burn it…whatever you see fit!" George called over his shoulder as the two hightailed it toward Gryffindor Tower.

I glanced down at myself. George's jumper absolutely dwarfed me. The hem fell down to my thighs, and the sleeves had to be rolled up three times for my fingers to be visible. It smelled of the smoke from their new fireworks product, and also of pine. My stomach contracted painfully as I shifted and the necklace bounced lightly on my collarbone.

"Jennifer, may I be excused from my duties? I think I'm going to be sick." Luckily, she was so frazzled over the twins' distraction that she waved me away. Without so much as a glance backward I walked as fast as I could toward the common room, the throbbing now a vicious roar between my ears.

I barely even spared a look at Grace, who rolled her eyes and laughed at my appearance as I came through the tunnel. "Are you shagging Weasley now? But wait, what about Cedric?"

The entire room went silent, and I gave a shaky exhale.

"Not cool, Grace," Patrick muttered, getting up and exiting the same way I came. Terrence followed suit.

"Some people are so touchy," she sniffed, fluffing her hair as I forced myself to keep walking. She wasn't worth it.

Suddenly, as I opened the door to the dormitory, I felt a strong wave of nausea pass through me and I sprinted into the bathroom, completely ignoring the heated snogging session happening in Noel's bed. I emptied my stomach contents into the toilet, my throat burning and my eyes watering. My legs groaned in protest as I tried to stand, so I settled for sitting on the ledge of the small tub, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"…Prudence?" Noel knocked on the door and poked her head in. She tried not to grimace at the smell. "I sent Lee out. Are you okay?"

I wanted to speak but my stomach was still churning dangerously, so I shook my head. Then I lurched over the toilet again. Cringing slightly, she lifted my hair away from my neck and patted me gingerly on the back.

"Just, er, get it all out then," she said in a strained voice.

With one last retch it was over, and I felt strangely empty. "Noel," I tried. "I feel awful."

"Well yeah, I think the toilet would attest to that," she said, her tone sarcastic but her eyes sympathetic.

I wiped my sweaty hair off of my forehead. "Not just that. Look whose sweater I'm wearing."

Noel nodded slowly and bit her lip. "Goes great with that necklace, huh?"

I didn't understand how I could have been so wrong about Noel for all these years and never have known how intelligent and empathetic a person she was. She always knew exactly what I was talking about, even if I didn't say much, and she always knew the right words to speak.

"I just - I feel like I'm not even myself anymore, and I realize how dumb that sounds, but… I can't even remember the last afternoon I spent doing my homework in the library, or the last time I read a book as I ate alone, or how his voice sounds when he says my name. I can't remember how he smells, or what his touch feels like. I can't remember Noel. I've forgotten." My lip trembled.

Noel's mouth was slightly open. "Prudence…"

"And I hate myself, because while I'm sure his parents are still mourning, I'm getting butterflies in my stomach from the way _George_ says my name, and from when he touches me. He's just so…unlike any other person I've met, he's so brave and kind and funny, but then I start thinking, well Cedric was all those things too, and then I understand why I care for them both, and then I remember that Cedric's gone and that it would be completely unfair of me to even think about George like that because I still think of _Cedric_ like that, not that George even likes me or anything so it doesn't even matter but I am literally sick of feeling like such a terrible person," I burst out, wiping my clammy palms furiously along the length of my uniform skirt.

I tried to get back on my feet but got lightheaded and fell backwards against the wall. "Perhaps bed would be a more suitable place for you right now," Noel said lightly, grabbing onto my elbows and leading me out of the loo.

"Am I a terrible person?" I asked as I stumbled into my bed. I kicked my shoes off and allowed her to pull the covers over me.

Her lips pursed. "No. Matter of fact, I guarantee Cho is feeling the same way."

My brow furrowed. "Really? Does she fancy someone else?"

"Harry Potter," she said with a shrug.

I blinked. "Oh."

"We can't help who we have feelings for. You shouldn't feel poorly for being human. George hasn't exactly been making it easy for you. He walks you everywhere, and makes you your tea in the morning, and always comes over and sits in your bed. He knows what he's doing but I don't think he's taking your feelings into account." She perched herself on the edge of my bed and summoned me a glass of water.

I took a tiny sip to soothe my throat, which felt as though a fire had raged through it. "George…likes me?"

"Of course I can't be sure," she said with a shrug. "But you definitely hold his interest, let's put it that way. If you want him to stop, you just have to treat him very platonically, make your stance known. Unless you don't want him to stop, in which case, keep doing what you're doing."

I frowned. "What am I doing?"

Noel smirked. "Being you. I don't know, maybe it's that whole innocent, doe-eyed thing you've got going on. Or the fact that you're extremely responsible, patient, well-read, quiet, all the things that he's not. You fascinate him."

My stomach did not like the news I was receiving. Noticing my despairing look, she patted my hand. "I can't relate to e_xactly _what you're feeling, but I keep feeling guilty too, about Lee."

"Because you still care for Dash?" I asked as straight-forward as possible. Noel hated it if it seemed like I was pitying her even in the slightest, so I tried to keep my tone even.

"Unfortunately." She looked as though she'd tasted something bitter. "But a part of me will always care for him I think. For the moments when he was sober, and kind, and honest. Not for the bad moments. Not for the drunk ones. Or the angry ones. And I've just told myself that Lee and I aren't serious, so it's all right."

I placed the goblet down on the endside table. "Do you want to be serious with Lee?" I asked slyly.

She whacked me very gently with a pillow. "No. He's too goofy. He's like a puppy dog. I need a man in control. But not too much control that I can't tear it away from him," she responded with a wink.

"Okay…I get it. I think I actually feel better. Thanks Noel." I kept my gaze directed at the sheets.

"Any time. And about the whole not-feeling-like-yourself thing, maybe it's not so bad to change. If you're happier now, that's all that matters." With an almost shy smile, she closed my curtains and left the room, shutting off the lights.

I rolled onto my side and inhaled the scent of pine. Was I happier without Cedric? I didn't think I wanted to answer that.

* * *

><p>I awoke early the next morning to the sounds of Noel's deep breathing. A glance out of my hangings showed it was still dark, but I felt too uncomfortable to sleep. My skin was covered in a cold sweat, and goose bumps raced down my arms and legs. My head still throbbed, my stomach contents were swimming, and my throat felt raw.<p>

After a sip of water and a summoned wash cloth for my face, I turned over and attempted to drift back into my dreams until the cool metal of the book charm slid down the chain and over my collarbone. It was then that I remembered I was still wearing George's jumper, and my skin crawled.

I needed to make a choice, but I didn't want to. There were a lot of absences in my life: my mother, my father, my childhood, now Cedric. Was it selfish of me to not want to give him up? I mean, I couldn't just forget him because he wasn't here.

But did that mean I supposed to cling on to his memory even when I could hardly remember how his voice sounded, or how he looked when he smiled at me? My head gave a powerful throb and I tore off the sweater, tossing it on the floor.

I would think about this later.

* * *

><p>"No tea, please," I managed weakly as I lowered myself onto the bench. The smell of bacon, syrup, and eggs was nauseating enough without actually putting it into my system.<p>

"Still feeling like arse?" Fred inquired through a mouthful of food.

I forced my gag reflex to stay in check. "Unfortunately, which should make Potions absolutely thrilling today."

"Hey, we have today, tomorrow, and then it's the holidays! Cheer up!" I stiffened as George wrapped his arm around me.

Ducking out from under him, I ruffled around in my satchel and retrieved his jumper. "Here. Thanks for this."

He took it with a questioning brow. "Someone's feeling friendly this morning."

"Just trying not to projectile vomit on everyone," I muttered, and pulled my book out in an attempt to distract my stomach from its inner turmoil that suddenly had nothing to do with actual illness.

"_She left me the way people leave a hotel room. A hotel room is a place to be when you are doing something else. Of itself it is of no consequence to one's major scheme. A hotel room is convenient. But its convenience is limited to the time you need it while you are in that particular town on that particular business; you hope it is comfortable, but prefer, rather, that it be anonymous. It is not, after all, where you live."_

I glanced around to make sure no one was looking over my shoulder, and dog-eared the page for later. Maybe Cedric was my hotel room. Maybe I had been his. Did I still need it? Clearly he didn't still need me. My stomach raged again, and I pushed back from the table.

"If I sit here any longer, I swear I'll be sick. Lee, are you coming?"

With a nod, he crammed a slice of toast into his mouth and we departed from the hall as fast as I thought my body would allow.

We walked mainly in silence, as Lee was too busy chewing to hold conversation, but I winced every time we rounded a corner, afraid that every footstep was going to be a person pointing a wand at my skull. I'd been pretending to be fine, but in reality I was terrified of everything tenfold since I'd been cursed. I knew that defensively I had the upper hand thanks to Harry and the DA, but I was afraid of not having the courage to actually execute the spells.

All too late, I realized Lee was speaking. "I'm so sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was asking you what I should get Noel for Christmas." His brown eyes were eager.

I turned away. "Oh, you know, I'm not sure that's such a great idea…"

He stopped me as we approached our classroom. Charles Goldstein and Jennifer Mickelson passed us, the latter shooting us a dirty look for getting in their way. "Prudence, please. I've never felt this way about a girl before. It's like the second I see her, all my confidence just goes out the window, and I forget how to act. I need to get her something that tells her how serious I am about my feelings for her, because I know she thinks we're just a fling. I need to show her that we're not."

"I…" I chewed on my lip as I tried to keep the nausea at bay. I could tell Lee the truth, that Noel couldn't handle anything long-term right now, but that would require an explanation I wasn't allowed to give. But who knows? Maybe Noel would suddenly change her mind. Lee would certainly be good for her. What was the harm?

"Okay, well, the thing is not to get her something materialistic. She'll be getting plenty of thinks like blouses and purses and shoes already I'm sure, so whatever you get her needs to be…sentimental. And thoughtful. A gift that actually matter to her. Do you know what I mean?"

Lee scrunched his brow up. "Yeah…yeah! Damn you're good. Now hurry up or we'll be late! Oh, sorry," he muttered hastily as I gagged from the force of his back clap.

With a ginormous sigh, I trudged after him into Snape's classroom.

* * *

><p>The day was a blur. I barely made it through potions without getting sick. The only reason I managed an Exceeds Expectations was because the concoction we brewed was something that every healer needed to know for their entrance exam, and therefore was something I had made before.<p>

Every time Montague saw me now, he would wink, or lick his lips, or snap his teeth at me. He was beyond creepy. I seemed to run into him much more often now, or maybe he just liked to follow me around to torment me.

Umbridge was getting worse as well. Since we were so close to the holidays and everyone was happy, she sought every opportunity to ruin the euphoria. Fred and George both had detentions with her for both Thursday and Friday night along with dozens of other Gryffindors. I'd narrowly escaped one as well; she'd been ready to write me up just for being in the same vicinity as the twins when they were attempting to sell some of their new products in the Viaduct.

Now that their Skiving Snackboxes were nearly complete, they no longer needed me to test their products and were preparing to sell them after the holidays. They'd tried to pay me the other day and I refused. Now that we were friends, it didn't seem right to take their money.

"Oi, what's wrong with you?" George demanded as I ignored his joke about the wench, the hag, and the three-eyed vampire from Australia.

I placed down my quill with more force than necessary. "Maybe I have more important things to do than listen to your jokes right now, George."

His expression grew indignant. "Sorry for trying to cheer you up. You've been ill and moping around all sodding week, and I just wanted to see you smile."

I cradled my head in my hands. This is exactly what I'd been trying to avoid. "I know, and that's nice and everything, but you have no idea what's been going on, all right?"

"Well you can talk to me about it, you know that," George urged, gesturing for me to join him on my bed. He'd followed me in here after classes despite my hinting that I wanted to be alone, and Noel had yet to make an appearance, so we had the room to ourselves.

"I just need time on my own, okay?" I said roughly. I needed him to stop thinking I was 'fascinating.' I needed him to stop believing we were anything more than friends.

He stood abruptly. "Yeah, I get it. I've got detention anyway. Maybe if I'm lucky those new Mimbulus Mimbletonium Sprout gave to her for Christmas will have eaten her or something."

His attempt to joke was dry and his voice lacked any humor. He was upset, and it was because of me. I wanted to tell him to stay, that I would listen to his stupid witticisms and tell him all my problems, but if I did then I would just be leading him on. We could only be friends.

The door closed behind him, and with a cry of frustration I shoved my books and papers off my desk and onto the floor. I yanked off my blouse and skirt, tossed on a faded T-shirt and cotton pajama pants, and crawled into bed despite it only being nine o'clock. I would apologize for my behavior in the morning; that way I could leave for the holidays on good graces, but he would still know that I wanted distance.

When Noel came in an hour later, she saw my closed hangings and said nothing. She simply went through her nightly routine, shut off the lights, and went to sleep. Grace had been living in the seventh year boys' dormitory, and it had been blissfully calm for the last week, although I could see Martin, Patrick, and Terrence growing more and more irritated with her. I didn't blame them.

What felt like an eternity later, as I barely slept the entire night, the sun begin to seep through the heavy, wool curtains surrounding my bed and I allowed myself to get up and shower. The hot water only woke me up slightly, and I was forced to use my wand to rid my face of the hideous bags beneath my eyes.

I looked as terrible as I felt. My damp hair hung lank, my skin was pallid, and my eyes were dull. Despite the humidity of the room, chills wracked my body and I sneezed violently, causing pain to flare up in my throat. I dressed myself in my winter clothing: long underwear, thick, woven pants, my heaviest jumper, wool socks, and a long, knit scarf.

Once I felt sufficiently warm, I set about packing, which I had neglected until the absolute last moment. I hadn't been home for Christmas since I had been at Hogwarts, and I wasn't sure what I would need for the next two weeks. I tiptoed around between my wardrobe and my trunk, piling in blouses, skirts, dresses, pants, knickers, socks, and pajamas. I made sure to pack the fanciest things I owned, as I knew Noel's family had money and I wanted to make a good impression. Still, it took three quarters of an hour to choose, as I couldn't decide what should come with me, and what should stay behind.

Once that was done, I put together my toiletries and sealed the bag with an impermeable charm, tossing them onto the pile. I added the one nice pair of boots I possessed, a pair that had actually been my mother's. I'd found them hidden in our attic last summer and had used magic to suit them to my feet. After another moment's thought, I threw in ten different novels, all of which had been read before but were my personal favorites, before shutting and locking my trunk.

There was a sudden furious knocking at our door, which quickly turned to pounding.

Noel's head shot out from behind her hangings. "Whatimizzit?"

I leapt over various stacks of Noel's belongings, which also had yet to be packed, and wrenched the door open. "Lee?"

He barreled into the room, causing Noel to shriek and retreat behind the curtains before reemerging in a nightgown and hastily applied lipstick.

"Lee, what's wrong? What's happened?" I demanded. He was leaning on his knees and panting, like he'd run the entire way here.

"It's Fred and George," he managed breathlessly. "Their father's been attacked. McGonagall took them all out of the castle about an hour ago, them, Ron, Ginny, and Harry."

Noel frowned. "Harry?"

Lee shook his head, gesturing for us to be patient. "He-he was yelling about a snake, and a dream he had. I think Harry sawthe attack happen in his sleep."

"How could he have seen it happen in his _sleep_?" I asked, my mind whirling at the speed of light.

He sucked in a breath. "I don't know, but whatever you do, stay out of Umbridge's way. She's furious; she actually came all the way to Gryffindor Tower to investigate. She's convinced McGonagall's hiding them all somewhere. Crazy old bat."

"So she didn't know about the attack?" My question came out more eager than I anticipated, and Noel gave me an odd look.

"No, I don't think so. You can't say anything though. Whatever Mr. Weasley was doing, I think it was for Dumbledore, so he wants it kept quiet. I've never seen McGonagall act like that before, like she was actually afraid. It was bloody terrifying."

I sank down onto my bed, tucking my shaking hands beneath my legs. "Is he all right? Mr. Weasley?"

Lee's mouth set into a grim line. "Not sure. We'll have to wait for news from the hospital."

I tried to swallow the bitter taste in my mouth. George was gone, his father could be dead for all I knew, and the last time we'd spoken I'd thrown him out of my room without explanation. I hoped he knew we were still friends. I hoped he knew that I needed him.

Feeling like there were stones settled in the pit of my stomach, I rose and walked out of the dormitory without a final destination in mind. It was only after a solid thirty minutes of wandering that I found myself outside the Room of Requirement that I knew what I could do. I opened the large, rustic door to find a single desk in the center, upon which laid a stack of parchment and a quill already dipped into a pot of ink.

I sat down and started to write.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello everyone, I'm terribly sorry for the wait. The end of the semester is approaching which means lots of tests, projects, and papers, but I promise I will be writing in every spare moment of my time! I also want to thank all of those who have reviewed this story, because it's what absolutely forced my get up early this morning and finish this damn chapter! **

**UP NEXT: Prudence's first Christmas out of the castle and with a real family, we meet Noel's parents, gifts are exchanged, and Prudence receives a reply from George. Stay tuned!**


	16. Someone Else's Home for the Holidays

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>I woke early in a cold sweat, starting off my morning exactly as I had for the past three days. It was Tuesday, and the winter holidays were off to an…interesting start.<p>

The castle had been buzzing on Saturday about where Harry Potter and the Weasleys had disappeared to, and why Umbridge was so angry. I'd skipped breakfast to write the letter, which I had all but sprinted to the owlery to deliver, but had heard much speculation on the train home. The Slytherins were spreading a nasty rumor that there had been a death in the family, which actually terrified me because if Mr. Weasley really had been attacked, I would bet the Death Eaters were involved somehow. I still hadn't heard any news from George yet, which only encouraged my paranoia.

I shifted as I tried to block the nightmares out from my mind, somehow managing to be uncomfortable in spite of the king-sized bed and silk sheets that I was sleeping on. As it turned out, Noel's father was the manager for the Weird Sisters, a fact she had hidden from everyone at Hogwarts for the past seven years, and to say their house was large would be a gross understatement. Noel had her own wing. My guest room had a full bath with a Jacuzzi-style tub inside of it. I wasn't used to having all of this space to myself.

Granted, as my father was a heart surgeon, my family had never been poor, but I'd never gotten to share in the wealth either. I shouldn't complain; though my father loathed me, he still paid for my schooling and private ice skating lessons, even if it was only to get me out of his way so he didn't have to see me.

I shifted again, rolling over onto my back and staring up at the ceiling. Shadows played upon it, dancing in the moonlight that was drifting across the room, let in by the balcony door. Yes, the balcony. The guest room (one of many guest rooms) had its own balcony. It overlooked the west gardens. There were east, north, and south gardens as well.

Obsessive as it was, I found myself recounting my words to George for the umpteenth time. It was the only thing that made it possible for me to fall back asleep.

_Dear George, _I'd written. _I hope this letter finds you all right. I have no idea where you are, but I hope it's at your father's side. I heard the news from Lee just now, and I'm terribly sorry. I want you to know that I'm deeply apologetic, both for your father and for the way I treated you yesterday. I'm also sorry if it seems selfish for me to be bothering you with my apology right now; perhaps it is selfish of me to want your forgiveness. _

I cringed, as I always did when I got to that part. It seemed so formal.

_I suppose I owe you an explanation, although I don't know if you want one. I suppose I'll give it to you anyway. I've been thinking a lot lately, about Cedric, and about You-Know-Who and my mother and the war(s). As pathetic as it sounds, it's just too much. And I feel like I've been depending on you for all of it, which is completely unfair to you. I mean, I talked your ear off practically every night these past several weeks, and you were great, but I can't keep doing this to you. I've been thinking that perhaps it would be best if our friendship maintained a bit more distance. We would just spend less time together alone is all. _

That part had been the hardest to write, but I told myself that it was in George's best interest.

_Sorry, again, if that sounds weird. But I need to know that I can handle these things on my own. I won't have a George Weasley by my side forever to take care of me, so I need to take care of myself. I hope you understand, and don't think I'm completely neurotic (though I wouldn't blame you if you did). As far as your father goes, I promise to keep him in my thoughts, and I'll be praying to Merlin for his recovery. I've attached a small card that you can put up at his bed side; I thought it could bring a bit of cheer._

_I'll send your gift, as well as Fred and Ginny's, by owl in a few days' time. _

_Best wishes,_

_Prudence_

I think the letter made the best sense that it could in spite of me withholding the real reason I wanted to lessen our time together. With a groan, I shoved my face into the pillow, thoroughly unsatisfied with the way my face sank softly into the feather pillow. Apparently an overly-comfortable bed was something money could buy.

* * *

><p>"Thanks again for breakfast, Mrs. Dalton," I said politely as I set my cloth napkin down.<p>

The shockingly blonde woman that was Noel's mother smiled warmly. Her teeth glinted in the sunlight. "Oh dear, it was nothing! And please, call me Christiana."

I jumped slightly as a house elf appeared out of nowhere and swept my dishes away. This was my third breakfast in the Dalton's large dining room, and still I wasn't used to being waited on hand and foot. I knew Hogwarts had house elves, but the only time I ever saw them was if I entered the kitchens.

"Noel, I thought you could show Prudence the trophy room today." There was something tense in the way that Mrs. Dalton laid her hands onto the table.

Sure enough, the strawberry blonde set her knife down with a loud clattering sound. The dish of honey trembled slightly. "Mum, I am _not _showing that to Prudence. What would it interest her for, anyway?"

If I hadn't seen the baby photographs, I would not believe that the two were related. They looked nothing alike, and seemed to have even less in common.

Mrs. Dalton's blue eyes sharpened as they set themselves upon her daughter, whose own brown eyes were filled with loathing. "Noel, you will not give me attitude under my own roof. I merely thought that Prudence would be interested to see what your main hobby was for the majority of your life."

"Oh, I would," I said eagerly. Mrs. Dalton smiled. Noel glared and stabbed her pancake viciously.

"Then it's settled," Noel's mother declared.

Noel shoved back from her chair. "Come on then, let's just get it over with."

With another quick 'thank you' towards Mrs. Dalton, I stood and followed Noel hastily out of the dining room. We wove through a long hallway adorned with paintings that were probably worth more than my education, then out into the foyer. We walked – well, in Noel's case, stalked – down the east wing of the house, which I'd yet to have a tour of. When I'd asked Noel about it earlier she'd rolled her eyes and told me not to ask stupid questions.

It was obvious there was much less foot traffic here; the violets that were placed strategically along the hall were wilted ever so slightly, and several of the portraits had a thin film of dust covering them. We came to a stop outside of a door of deep mahogany with a crystal handle, which looked extremely delicate. Noel wrenched it open and tossed the door to the side. I winced as it slammed into the wall.

Silver, gold, and diamonds twinkled at me from every direction, creating such a brightness that all I could see was the color white. I rubbed my eyes furiously. There were tiaras upon shelves, sashes hung along the walls, trophies as tall as me standing around the perimeter. Wall to wall, floor to ceiling…this possibly held more awards than the Trophy Room at Hogwarts.

"Oh," was all I said once my vision cleared. "You did beauty pageants?"

Noel's glower deepened and I fought the urge to snicker. "It was the only thing that got her to leave me alone. One pageant equaled a week of peace to do what I pleased. Plus it made her," her mouth twitched angrily, "happy."

"And that's a bad thing?" I really wished I understood Noel's relationship with her mother. When we'd arrived several days ago, Noel hadn't hugged her, and Mrs. Dalton looked like she'd expected nothing less. All of their interactions were tense, and it was obvious there was a lack of respect on both ends.

She sighed and focused on a particularly large tiara set in a glass case in the center of the room. "I spent my childhood living her life, not mine. I hated those stupid pageants. All the glitter and frills and girls trying to sabotage one another by tearing each other's dresses or stealing their answers for the question and answer portion…but I always used to think, just for a moment, how happy my mother would be if I won, and so I always tried my hardest and I would come away with the biggest trophy and the tiara and sash. And she would be happy, until the next pageant came along, and it would start all over."

"So you _did _want her to be happy, she just was never satisfied," I summed up. Once again I'd been too quick to judge her.

Noel nodded slowly. "She still tries to get me to sign up for them. She thinks she can bribe me with clothes or shoes, and she guilt trips me by saying there are so few things she gets pleasure out of these days... She hasn't realized that I've finally become my own person, though it's not for her lack of trying. If she had her way I'd be just like her."

I nodded slowly, allowing the silence to fill the space between us. "What are we going to do today? Besides look at your trophies, I mean."

Nearly as soon as we'd arrived on Saturday, Noel had dragged me out of the house and taken me to the local shopping district. Yesterday, she had reluctantly given me a tour before we spent the day holed up in her room watching a bunch of films that had come out while we'd been away at Hogwarts. Monday had been a combination of the two, followed by an extremely awkward meal with her parents, during which her father proceeded to ignore everyone at the table in favor of the messages he was receiving from his clients.

She shrugged. "I thought we could invite Lee over and we could bake some cookies for the homeless shelter or something. I'd invite the twins, but obviously they're busy."

"You're such a Hufflepuff," I teased, elbowing her as we made our way back into the hallway.

"Like you're not? I still remember third year when you bought Snape a Christmas present because you were afraid he wouldn't get anything," she replied with a raised brow.

My cheeks flushed. "It was just a potions book. And I'm sure he's completely forgotten by now."

"Right," Noel snorted, and the two of us burst into laughter that echoed across the walls.

* * *

><p>Two hours later, the three of us were staring at a bunch of gathered ingredients on the kitchen counter.<p>

"Erm…what do we do with them?" Noel asked, picking up and examining a bottle of vegetable oil.

I gave her a sideways glance. "You're the one who suggested it, I thought you knew."

"Well my mother isn't exactly the homebody type. You seem much more of that breed, so I thought _you _knew!"

I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth at her words, instead choosing to look through the cabinets for a cook book.

Lee held up his hands. "Neither of you look at me, I can't even make proper toast. It either comes out still soggy or is burned to a crisp."

"Prudence, let me do it. Accio recipe!"

With a shriek, I fell to the floor as the cabinet door in front of me burst open and a large, red book flew straight at me. I slapped Lee's offered hand away and stood on my own, shooting seething glares at the duo.

"Sorry," Noel sniggered as she and Lee exchanged a look. The laughter continued for a long while. Every time one of them came close to sobering up, they would nudge each other and collapsed back into giggles.

I rolled my eyes and snatched the book out of her hands, flipping through it to find a suitable recipe. "Well, if we're giving it to the homeless, we'll have to have something that can be packaged individually. Wouldn't do to bring them a cake or a pie. Perhaps some gingerbread cookies? Or chocolate chip?"

Lee cleared his throat and straightened up. "Sure. Sounds great." He snorted another laugh.

Baking with the pair of them went something like this.

"Pass the butter."

Undefinable snogging sounds.

"I'll get it myself then – oh, you're actually on top of it. Guess I should get more."

Essentially, a lot of talking to myself. I was extremely grateful when Mrs. Dalton wandered into the kitchen to offer Lee a place at the table for dinner. They were forced to separate their lips, something I hadn't been able to finesse in the hour we had been together.

"Oh! Oh, well, that would be lovely Mrs. D but unfortunately as it's Christmas Eve, I should be getting home to my family."

Mrs. Dalton actually blushed slightly. When he wasn't speaking with Noel, he could actually manage to be quite charming. "All right, but I expect you back over here one night, at least, before you go back to school."

Noel's eye twitched. "Mum, could you stop flirting with my friends and just go back to styling your hair or something?"

"Noel, if you show even one ounce of this attitude at dinner tonight, you won't be getting any of your gifts tomorrow," she threatened. Even to me it sounded empty and desperate.

Noel must have thought so too, because she simply rolled her eyes and told Lee she'd walk him to the apparition point.

"Prudence, those cookies look wonderful," Mrs. Dalton said as she smoothed down her dress. "Am I correct in assuming you baked them on your own?"

I smiled slightly. "Yes…Lee and Noel were rather preoccupied. I hope these taste all right; I've never baked anything before."

She poured herself a glass of white wine. "Oh honey I'm sure they're lovely. You probably read the directions thrice over. Now, tell me about Noel and this Lee boy. Is she leading him on?"

"Oh!" I said, completely caught off guard. "Well…Noel has told Lee that she doesn't want anything serious. Lee just chooses not to believe it." Her eyes followed me as I removed another tray of cookies from the oven.

"That's my daughter. She keeps them on a leash. I just want her to settle down with a nice, respectable man. Lee seems like a fine young gentleman, although that's probably why she won't give him the time of day."

Slightly uncomfortable, I murmured a noncommittal response.

"Well, I should go see how the elves are setting the table in the dining room. They've probably put out the wrong forks…oh, and dinner's in an hour! I've left your dress and shoes out on your bed!"

With a wave and a cloud of perfume, she was gone. I grabbed one of the cookies and bit it anxiously.

* * *

><p>Noel didn't come back for a long while, so I found some tin foil, wrapped the cookies, and stumbled my way round until I found the room I was staying in. No matter how long I stayed here, I doubted I would be able to navigate successfully.<p>

Tonight and tomorrow we were having formal dinners, and as I didn't own any dresses or high heels, I was borrowing some of Noel's. It was a cranberry color, and stopped just above my knees. I'd never worn anything so short before. Actually, I'd never shown so much skin in front of other people. My father would never approve of something like this.

I slid the dress up my legs and over my torso, my skin breaking out in goose bumps from the chill it brought. I gasped at my reflection. I looked…stunning. I_ felt_ stunning. Eagerly, I stepped into the golden heels, three inches tall and the shortest that Noel owned.

Giddily, I took a few teetering steps towards the bathroom. Noel kept saying how much I'd changed since the start of the year. I honestly felt like I was different. But this was the first time I'd actually seen any change. I was smiling an honest to Merlin smile. I was dressed like a (slightly promiscuous) princess. Baring all this skin felt liberating. No wonder Noel did it so often. Was that a backhanded compliment?

She wasn't here to hear it.

Still smiling, I combed my hair back into a chignon and applied a light coat of mascara.

"Goddamn you look hot," Noel said as she breezed into the loo.

"I…kind of feel hot." A tinkering laugh escaped my lips.

Noel smirked. "Come on, my mum just called us for dinner. Hope you like escargot."

"What?!"

She snorted in laughter, somehow not managing to stumble despite trying to walk while doubled over. "I'm just kidding Prudence, Merlin! Like I would eat snails. We're having filet mignon."

"Oh…good." I smoothed down my hair, trying to maintain my dignity. Noel rolled her eyes but grinned, hooking her arm with mine.

* * *

><p>"Oh my god, I've never eaten so much, not even at Hogwarts," I moaned as we dragged ourselves out of the dining room.<p>

Noel winced as she took a step too quickly. "My mum likes the holidays. And feeding people."

After another five minutes of groaning, we finally made it upstairs, heels in hand. To be honest, I'd taken my shoes off about a quarter of an hour into dinner. Even sitting with them was uncomfortable. I had no clue how Noel wore them every day.

"I'll see you in the morning for present opening!" Noel said cheerfully as she turned into her bedroom.

I couldn't suppress my smile. There were at least ten parcels under the tree for me. The most I'd ever gotten was two, one from Nydia, my mother's old live-in nurse, and Cedric. After placing the shoes neatly by the door, I wandered into the bathroom and filled the large tub with warm water.

Maybe Noel was right. It wasn't bad that I had changed, right? If I hadn't, I would be miserable. I'd be all alone at Hogwarts, with no one to exchange gifts with. No one to speak with, no one to eat meals with, spending all of my free time in the library… I used to think that I preferred it over the company of my classmates, but after meeting Fred, George, and Lee, it was clear I was wrong. I was lonely and I was sad, and being alone did nothing but feed my fears.

Having friends by my side, people that I could trust only helped me feel more brave. I'd done things I never would have dreamed of 4 months ago. I'd stood up to Umbridge, stood up to Grace and Martin, joined the DA, and found out about my mother's past, something that had been burning at the back of my mind for fourteen years.

Feeling content, I dried off and slipped on my pajamas before climbing into bed. I couldn't wait for tomorrow.

"So you think you can dress like a whore, huh?"

I gasped and whirled around, finding my father standing behind me, an empty bottle in his right hand. His breath reeked of alcohol and there was nothing but hatred in his hazel eyes, so similar to mine. I looked down. I was still wearing Noel's dress.

"No, Dad, this was just for dinner, it was formal-"

He took a step forward. I took two steps back. "Dinner with your new family. You couldn't wait to get rid of me, could you, and get rid of your mother. After everything I've done for you!"

"Done for me? Wha – you mean nearly putting me in the hospital? Ignoring every birthday, every holiday, leaving me to fend for myself, even when I was a child?" My stomach was gurgling, the familiar feelings of fear and anger licking at my insides.

Without warning, he threw the bottle. It barely missed my head, exploding behind me in a whirlwind of glass. I whimpered and backed up to the wall against my will.

"Damn ungrateful little bitch," he snarled. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, preparing, but I couldn't move. My eyes watched his flexed knuckles carefully.

"All you do is take. You take my money and run off to that goddamn magic school like the little coward you are. What is that degree going to get you, huh? You're pathetic, and don't even bother coming to me when you're living on the streets because no one will hire a freak like you." His words came out cold, almost detached.

I pressed my shaking hand to me mouth as he began to creep forward.

"You never learn your lesson, do you? Maybe I'll have to be a bit more clear," he grunted, and he lunged for me.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, but as I felt the sting of his strength upon my face I began to fall upwards. I shot straight up, finding myself in a dark bedroom. I was fine. I was at the Dalton's. Everything was okay. My heart raced as I tried to untangle myself from the sheets.

"Prudence?" Noel burst through the door, flooding the room in light. "Is everything all right? I heard screaming."

Tears dripped down my face, mingling with the cold sweat that coated my skin. She climbed up beside me. "Just a bad dream," I murmured, shivering slightly.

She observed me for a moment, her brown eyes narrowed in thought. "I can stay if you want me to."

"Okay," I whispered after a moment's hesitation, and then she shut off the lights, pulling the covers back over the both of us. Within a minute she was asleep once again, her breathing steady, but my eyes remained wide open.

"Noel? Where are you? Time to open presents, darling!" Mrs. Dalton called from out in the hallway. I sighed, finally acknowledging the sunlight that spilled across the wooden floor

She groaned as I shook her awake. "Hey, Happy Christmas. Your mother's looking for you."

Noel eyed me blearily. "Why'm I in your room?"

"I had a nightmare."

"Oh yeah…" she forced herself out of bed and onto her feet. "Well, Happy Christmas. MUM! I'M IN HERE!"

I slapped my hands over my ears and gave her a dirty look as I pulled on a jumper and slipped my feet into my shoes. Noel walked out in her silk nightgown, her feet bare.

"Come on girls, it's time to open presents!" Mrs. Dalton said as she enthusiastically clapped her hands.

Noel rolled her eyes but pasted a fake smile on her face as we bounded down the steps. I guess even she had a tolerance for Christmas cheer, no matter its sincerity.

When we reached the foyer, my eyes expanded about three times the regular size. The house elves must have been busy while we were sleeping. Their Christmas tree now stretched up to meet the ceiling, gifts absolutely spilling from its base. There were stacks of boxes as high as me, taller even.

Tinsel dangled from seemingly nowhere, and holly and fairy lights floated gently around us. That, combined with the light flooding in from the large bay windows, made the room absolutely sparkle. Noel breezed past everything like she didn't even notice it and conjured a large cushion to settle herself on.

Somewhat awkwardly, I skirted around an elf carrying a tray of breakfast pastries and followed her lead.

Noel's father was kneeling in front of the fire place, talking fast and loud to someone on the other end. "No, I don't care if that's what he says, this is what _I'm _saying, Randy! Look, I have to go, my family's down here. Tell him if he's got a problem with it to talk to me, but not now! Later!"

Even without being able to slam a telephone down, Mr. Dalton still managed a very dramatic goodbye.

"All right!" Mrs. Dalton said in an obviously forced cheerful voice. "Let's get started! Prudence, the way we do it is we just separate the gifts into individual piles for each person, and we just rip right into them! We've had to be very time efficient to accommodate Pascal's job."

The look that she shot her husband was not kind.

Noel sighed and tossed her hair back as the presents began to sort themselves, most of which ended up in front of her.

I was thrilled at my haul. There was one from Mr. and Mrs. Dalton, two from Noel, one from Lee, a heavy parcel from Ginny, something from Luna, a large box from Angelina, Katie, Alicia, and Janice, something from Fred, and a tiny gift from George.

Casually glancing around and seeing no one was paying me any attention, I slipped the parcel from George behind me to open later. It had a letter attached that I wanted to read in private, and I was trying to ignore the sudden adrenaline rush.

The Daltons had gotten me a blanket that warmed itself based on my body temperature, Noel had gotten me a substantial gift certificate to Flourish and Blotts and a makeup kit (she sent a smirk at me as I opened it), Lee bought me a pair of earrings that Noel had certainly helped him pick out, Ginny gave me a book on defensive spells, Luna had sent some more dirigible plums along with a large box of toffees, the girls had sent me a box of girly things – nail polish, facial creams, perfumes – and Fred had sent me a Deluxe Skiving Snackbox along with a bright purple disclaimer.

Once I was done, I sat back and watched Noel open gift after gift. She had piles of silk dresses, suede heels, blouses that looked more expensive than everything I owned combined, bags of a soft leather, and jewelry with gems the size of England. She looked bored.

Suddenly, her face lit up. "Prudence, this is wonderful!"

I knew she would be receiving tons of materialistic things, and I wanted my present to stand out, so I had decided to make her a bag filled with things that reminded me of her, along with small scraps of parchment that explained why. My favorite item that I'd put in there was a shrunken book about wizarding politics. Her ambition was to become a stylist, but personally I thought she would be better in a position of power. She was far too intelligent to devote her life to fashion.

I blushed as she hugged me, scrambling up to eagerly show her mother. Mr. Dalton was scanning through a bunch of messages that a house elf had just delivered to him.

"Sorry to break this up, but Myron's having some sort of mental breakdown and he's locked himself in his hotel room."

I caught the flicker of disappointment in both Noel and Mrs. Dalton's eyes.

"Are you sure, Pascal?"

He planted a dry kiss on her cheek, already hurrying over to the fireplace. "Unfortunately. I should be back in time for dinner, but don't wait for me!"

All three of us were quiet for a moment, until finally Noel sighed and returned to opening her presents. Mrs. Dalton started organizing the elves to clean up the paper and ribbons, sniffing every so often. I sat there awkwardly as Noel opened more parcels of silky robes and lacey skirts, until her right hand grasped a small box wrapped in gold paper.

"Is…everything okay?" I asked.

Her face was whiter than I'd ever seen it. "This is from Dash." She paused for a moment. "Should I open it?"

"No!" I cried, making Mrs. Dalton jump. I apologized, blushing profusely, but tore the package from her hands. "Open this instead, it's from Lee, look!"

She made no motions to take the package from me, so I opened it myself. "Noel…he made you a mix tape. And he wrote you a poem."

This at least captured her attention. "What?"

"Here, read." I handed her the parchment, which was rather lengthy. As she scanned it I set about stacking my gifts up and placing them in a box to take back up to my guest room later. "Did you like it?"

Noel pursed her lips and sat back on her heels, letting the poem flutter to the ground. "I have something to do tomorrow, and I want you to come with me."

"Okay, sure. Where are we going?"

She tossed her hair back. Her cheeks had regained some of their color, and her brown eyes looked determined. "We're going to Stretton Manor."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello all! Sorry, once again, for the wait. Horrible case of writer's block happening (although that may be because there were no Weasleys in this chapter!). This story has hit 5,000 reads! Thank you all so much, that's so incredible. Up next, Dash makes an arrogant reappearance, Prudence reads George's letter, the gang reunites, and Prudence finds her courage.**


	17. New Beginnings

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>I stared at it. I stared at it for so long that the candle had burnt all the way down to a waxy stump. With a quick sigh, I stood and walked over to the desk where it lay. Steadying myself, I snatched up the package first, and with a swipe of my finger it was open. A tiny charm fell into my waiting palm.<p>

It was a dove. A small, silver dove. It was stunning. Shaking now, I reached for the letter.

_Dear Prudence,_

_My father is okay. We managed to bring him home for Christmas, so he's a bit more cheered now. Mum's pretty chuffed though; he tried some Muggle fix called "stitches," and needless to say it didn't work. Listen, as far as the rest of your letter goes, I think this is something better discussed in person. Lee's going to meet up with Fred and I in Diagon Alley on Friday, and we're going to poke around a bit for a shop location, but I was thinking perhaps you and Noel could join us at the Leaky around 3 o'clock for a drink. How's that sound?_

_-George_

I dropped the parchment and placed the charm on top of it. Without another thought, I blew out the candle and fell into bed. Did I want to wear the charm, put it right next to Cedric's? Did I want to discuss this with him in person? There was nothing less I would rather do. I rolled onto my side and curled my legs into my chest.

The nightmares came tenfold. The lineup had changed ever so slightly: it went Cedric in the maze, my mother in the abandoned cabin, then my father, who appeared in different places each time. I hadn't had a decent night's sleep in weeks. Out of desperation I'd done a bit of research on sleep habits and brain activity, and I discovered that guilt was often a trigger for night terrors. This fact did not make me feel any better.

Breakfast was rushed. Mr. Dalton did not make an appearance, and as soon as the toast vanished from my plate Noel snatched my arm and rushed me out into the foyer.

"Noel, would you quit acting like a psychopath? You can't go over there all worked up like this!" I told her grumpily as I rubbed my bicep. Her grip was surprisingly strong for someone whose only physical activity was shopping.

Her brown eyes were wild with anger. "Do you know what he bought me? He bought me _lingerie!_ He told me he couldn't wait to see me in it! Never mind the fact that he dumped me two years ago, never mind the fact that the last time we were…together…it was not by my choice. Never mind the fact that he put me through the worst situation of my life. He's just so – so – AGH!"

I winced at her high-pitched screech and grabbed her gently by the shoulders. "Noel, listen to me. He's doing this to get a rise out of you, and to test his limits. What would hurt him the most is to act like this has no effect on you whatsoever. You're going to go over there and pretend this means nothing to you. You're going to end it and move on with your life."

"You know what, you're right," Noel replied. Her eyes had returned to normal. She flicked back her hair and smoothed down her black dress. "Let's do this."

Part of me wanted to giggle because of her overreactions, but Dash had taken advantage of her and used her for so many years that his blatant disregard for her feelings infuriated me. Honestly, I was more worried about what I would do when I saw him than what Noel would do.

"Hold tight, he lives in Cambridge," she warned as I grabbed her wrist. Before long, the familiar sensation of being shoved into a tube the size of my pinky finger overtook me, and we reemerged on a gravel road that was surrounded by birch trees.

"Oh my…" my jaw dropped open as I looked up the winding lane towards an absolutely gargantuan mansion.

Noel rolled her eyes. "Stop gawking. And follow me," she snapped.

With a sigh, I traipsed after her, wrapping my jacket more tightly around me as the wind bit at my skin. It took us nearly ten minutes to reach the front door, which Noel promptly flung open, breezing past a butler who was waiting to take our coats.

"We're not staying, Reginald, thank you. I just have to drop something off to Dashiell."

That was his full name? I hastened after her, trying not to stare at all of the expensive art that adorned the walls. His house was five times what Noel's was, and I still got lost trying to find the loo there. Up the spiral staircase we went, all the way to the fourth floor. I was slightly winded when we finally stepped off. It looked like it went up another two flights. How much space did you really need? At least ninety percent of this manor must have been empty or unused.

Noel stopped and looked at me for a second before exhaling. "I can do this, right?"

"Right!" I offered her hand a quick squeeze before she steeled herself and made her way down the hall, to where the sound of a television could be heard blaring loudly behind a door decorated in Tornadoes memorabilia. Without so much as a knock, Noel strutted in with her chin up and her chest out.

Dash was sprawled across a king-sized bed watching old quidditch tapes, a bottle of whiskey in his right hand. I shivered and involuntarily took a step back.

"Nelly Belly, what a pleasant surprise!" he cried, attempting to stand. He stumbled slightly.

She squinted her eyes. "Hmm, drunk at eleven in the morning? I seriously dodged a bullet there. I came to return this, as well as this box of all the other things you gave me."

His blue eyes blinked as she shoved the packages into his arms. "You don't like the gift? I can exchange it. What do you want? Pearls? Diamonds? Sex toys?" His eyebrows waggled.

"Eurgh," Noel sneered. "I don't want anything exchanged. I've told you before but now I'll say it to your thoroughly pissed face. I want nothing to do with you. You're a terrible person with a superiority complex who thinks he can take whatever he wants and give nothing back. I've got much better people in my life, I'm in a good place, and I don't want you dragging me down."

Inwardly I cheered. Outwardly, I kept my gaze on the bottle, still in his right hand.

"Oh come on. Babe, we both know you'll never be done with me. We had the most _amazing _times together." His voice lowered an octave as he dropped the box on the ground and wrapped his free arm around her waist. She shoved him off in disgust.

"Like the times where you pinned me down? Where you got so mad about losing a quidditch match that I found myself pressing a bag of ice to my cheek, and looking up advanced healing charms? Where you took advantage of me time and time again? Yes, those were truly amazing," Noel spoke, her eyes spitting fire. This was the kind of look she usually reserved for Grace.

His face suddenly morphed into one of complete fury. "I gave you everything!"

Nervously, I stepped closer to Noel as he continued to yell. "I introduced you to people, I made you popular! You were just a pathetic fourth year when we met! By the time I left, you were one of the most sought after girls at Hogwarts! And why do you think that is, huh? Because of me! Because Dash Stretton wanted you, so everyone else did, too! You would still be nothing without me, and this is the thanks I get?"

"Clearly nothing I say is going to get through your deluded mind, so just keep thinking that I'm in the wrong and I'll get out of your hair." Noel looked like she'd swallowed something bitter.

The whiskey bottle smashed against the wall, narrowly missing her head, and I got a sick sense of déjà vu. Before he had the chance to move any closer to her, I stepped between them and stuck my wand between his eyes. "Listen up, Dash," I said quietly. "I've seen people like you use and abuse women to their advantage, just because they think they can. But the thing is, Noel is strong, and intelligent, and kind, and beautiful. She was fine before you, and she'll be fine now. I want you to think very carefully about what you're about to do, because I know some _very _powerful spells that could put a hole right through your pretty little head."

With that, I took Noel's arm and yanked her from the room, all but sprinting down the stairs and out the door. We reached the apparition point much more quickly this time, with the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

"Prudence – Prudence, stop!" Noel gasped out finally. She was clutching at a stitch in her side.

It was only when I ceased to move that I realized just how badly I was shaking. "I'm sorry I – I don't know what came over me. That was – very abnormal. I've never threatened anyone before."

Noel looked vaguely terrified as she hunched over her knees. "It was kind of awesome, but…are you okay? I have _never _seen you angry before."

"I can't remember the last time I was that upset. Something in me just snapped," I murmured.

Without glancing back to the manor, she reached and grabbed my hand. "Let's go home, okay?"

* * *

><p>"For the fifteenth time, you look amazing, now can we go?" I groaned. I was seated on Noel's bed watching her watch herself in the mirror. Once again she disappeared into her walk-in closet, and I had to bite my lips to keep from cursing.<p>

Noel's voice was muffled. "I haven't seen Lee in a week, what if he's been spending his break with a Brazilian arse model?"

My eyes rolled so far back in my head that I could see my brain. "I highly doubt that. He's most likely been drooling over photographs of you. Besides, why do you care? He's just your snogging mate."

"I know, but I want him to become my shagging mate. It's been months since I've put my feminine wiles to good use. I miss it." She pulled her hair away from her neck and examined her navy blue sweater.

My cheeks flushed, the way they always did whenever Noel brought up the subject of sex. It just wasn't something I could discuss normally. "Well, you look very nice. Definitely, er, shagging mate-worthy."

"You tried," Noel said as she snorted in laughter. "All right, let's get on with it, then!"

The next thing I knew, we were right outside the familiar building with the chipped, brick walls and the rickety sign that squeaked every time the wind blew. A small bell rang as we pushed open the door, raising our hands in greeting of the old barman, Tom.

A smile spread across my face of its own accord as my eyes landed on Fred and George. I rushed over into Fred's open arms. "It's so good to see you! How's your father?"

"He's perfectly chipper," Fred assured me, ruffling my hair as he released me. I hesitated only a moment before embracing George as well. He smelled like pine and barley and his hands were warm against my back.

"Oi, where's my hug?" Lee demanded.

I sighed but wrapped my arms around him anyway. "I only saw you last week, Lee."

Noel was being oddly quiet. "Nice sweater."

Lee winked. "Some gorgeous red-head bought it for me."

"Fred bought you a sweater? Adorable!" George mocked with a wink.

Seeing Noel, Lee, and Fred's faces, I quickly suggested drinks, and ushered everyone to the bar. Lee happily took a seat beside Noel, and Fred beside him, leaving an open space between him and George. Did he just expect me to want to sit there? Sighing, I settled into it.

"What'll ya have?" Tom mumbled, hobbling over.

"Daisyroot Draught please," Noel spoke, still quiet. She was fidgeting with her top. I'd never seen her fidget before.

Lee exchanged a look with the twins. "2 firewhiskeys for the three of us each!"

Everyone eyed me expectantly. "Just gillywater for me, please."

"I forgot you don't drink, Prudence, that's no fun!" Lee booed.

George received his drinks but left them on the bar. "I take it you'd prefer to have this discussion before I put alcohol in my system?"

"Right," was all I said. _Even though I'd prefer not to have to discuss this at all._

He nodded his head towards the back door, which led to the opening of Diagon Alley. I wrapped my jacket more securely around my waist and followed him out.

"So," he said, leaning against the wall and tucking his hands into his pockets.

It hurt just to be this close to him. "I erm, really liked your Christmas present. Thank you."

His eyes flickered down to my necklace, just visible below my scarf. The dove charm rested between the book and the locket. "I can see that."

That hurt too. Was he doing this on purpose? "George-"

"My father says to thank you for the card," he cut in.

I blinked. "Oh…well, he's very welcome. I spent a lot of time in hospitals with my mother, and I just remember them as…static, and white. Not very welcoming."

"He was bitten by a snake."

"A snake? Where did he get bitten by a snake?" I asked, baffled.

George glanced around, as though to reassure himself of our solitude. "He was doing something for Dumbledore."

My mouth opened slightly in realization. "For the Order?"

"You know about the Order?"

I nodded. "It was something I discussed with Dumbledore in the meeting about my mother. I asked him if I could join."

"You continue to surprise me every day," he said with a wry grin. I didn't meet his gaze.

George straightened up. "Have I done something to upset you?"

"No!" I cried. I shut my eyes and took a breath. "George I haven't been very fair to you lately. There's been a lot going on, between Umbridge, and my mother, and just finding out all of these things…and I've been putting a lot of it on you. It's not very fair, and I should be able to handle these things on my own, because I won't always have you there to lean on."

"But you could," he joked. "Come on, I could be like your pet! I promise I'm house-broken. I'll be good."

In spite of myself, I laughed at the image of George walking around on all fours, waiting for me to come home from work. "That's not the point."

He nodded slowly. "I take it this has something to do with Cedric."

"I-" My mouth opened, then shut again. "I just want to be able to stand on my own. Because I think I can do it."

George smiled, not his typical goofy grin but a nice, soft smile that sent a flurry of happiness down my spine. "Then I shall be supporting you – from afar of course."

"So it's settled then," I said, suddenly nervous.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and began to lead me back indoors. "Sure is. Now let's get back in there before Noel ends up stabbing one of them with her straw."

* * *

><p>"Whose idea was this again?" slurred a drunken Lee.<p>

Fred, George, and Noel all pointed at me. "Prudence."

"Well, I suggested it before you all ordered that third firewhiskey," I said innocently, my brain clear and my coordination near perfect. "And you all agreed."

We trekked further north, dodging around a rotting tree whose branches threatened those who walked beneath it. I squinted; if you looked in just the right direction, you could see smoke rising from the stone chimney of my house.

"Where is this blasted lake?" Noel asked grumpily, shivering violently as the wind blew.

I took the lead, stepping over a log. "Just up ahead, beyond this clump of trees. See it?"

Fred, George, and Lee stopped abruptly, and Noel ran straight into their backs. "Phwoar…"

"I know," I said with a grin. The lake absolutely sparkled under the sunlight, and created a dazzling effect for those lucky enough to pass by. It was surrounded by snow banks and evergreen trees, and the crisp smell of the wintery air invaded my lungs with every breath. I'd missed this place.

"Noel, if you would do the honors." As I had not anticipated going skating over the holidays, I had left my skates at school, and none of them had their own pair. Noel, who was the best at Transfiguration, had offered to transfigure our boots into ice skates for the afternoon.

She shook her head slightly and pulled her wand out from beneath her shirt. Lee, half-pissed, tripped over his feet. I grinned happily as I looked down at my newly covered feet and delicately stepped onto the ice. It had been a full year since I'd last skated.

I pushed off and suddenly I was gliding across the pond, my hair whipping back behind me. I whizzed past my friends and went into a camel spin, reveling at the butterflies that exploded in my abdomen. For the next fifteen minutes I performed every jump and turn that I knew, gradually working my way up to doubles and even managing to toss two triple jumps in there. It was at the cheering and applause coming from my left that I remembered I hadn't come here alone.

"Sorry about that!" I said breathlessly as I skated over to them. They were still standing on solid ground. "It's just been a while."

George shook his head. "You should play quidditch! You were basically just flying without a broom."

Noel stared at me. "Yeah, where the hell did _that _come from?"

"My mother taught me," I said quietly. George caught my eye but I looked away. "So, who wants to get on the ice?"

After an hour, Noel was gleefully making her way round the pond as a helpless Lee stumbled after her, barely maintaining his balance. Both Fred and George were clutching onto me as I skated a simple path for them.

"You guys are doing pretty well!" I complimented them. "You haven't fallen in nearly five minutes!"

George glared at me, which caused him to slip and fall and take Fred and I with him. My back hit the ice and my legs ended up crushed beneath Fred's torso. I gave a tiny chuckle, and then suddenly my sides ached from laughter. This was the most fun I'd had here since my mother had brought me, on one of her rare lucid days. This was the most fun I'd had here in ten years.

A glance over at Noel and Lee showed them reenacting the end to the snowball fight; his hand was suspiciously low beneath her jacket and the smacking sounds echoed across the pond.

"Should we get up?" Fred asked, flopping over so he was now beside me.

George shrugged, his shoulders pressing against mine. "Nah."

We stayed for another hour or so, until the sky started to dim and our faces grew chapped from the blustering wind. With a wink, Noel grabbed hold of Lee and disapparated before I even opened my mouth to say goodbye.

"I think I'll be bruised on my arse for the next three weeks," Fred said with a groan, rubbing his tailbone.

"Good, that's for all the times you were a prat to me. Think of me every time you sit down." He made a face and huffed as I wrapped my arms around him, but ruffled my hair before he turned on the spot.

The air suddenly felt colder. "This was fun," he offered.

I shivered. "I'm glad I had friends to bring here."

For some reason, I always blurted out my thoughts to him, the things that I would never even say to Noel for fear of judgment. But I wasn't afraid around him. He was George.

"Friends who are glad to have you," he said with a smile. He tucked his hands into his pockets.

Unsure of myself after the events that had transpired today, I took a step forward. Then I took one more and placed my arms lightly around his neck, our chests just barely brushing against each other. I could feel his breath against my collarbone, warm in comparison to my skin. I released him and moved backwards three paces.

"Well, I suppose I'll see you on the train, then." There was a loud crack and I was alone.

I glanced in the direction of my house, my eyes following the trail of smoke that signified my father's presence. And then with a pivot of my foot it disappeared from sight.

The rest of the holidays passed surprisingly quickly. There was a large stack of assignments calling my name, and Noel had suddenly started coming to me for advice with Lee. Now that they had…been together, she claimed she needed to keep him entertained so he wouldn't lost interest. I tried not to shake my head, but it was clear the things that Dash had said and done to her had basically wrecked her opinion of herself, contrary to the front she put up.

I didn't see the twins again, although Fred sent me an owl telling me just how great the walkie-talkies I had given them worked. I had managed to change their frequency so they did not need electricity to work. Instead of running on batteries, they ran on magic; this allowed only the owner of the device to hear whatever was coming through it. I supposed I was inviting them to break even more school rules than they already were.

I also exchanged correspondence with Luna. I hadn't had a clue about what to give her for Christmas, so I had ended up taking some of the glass tulips Noel had brought me while I was in the hospital wing, charmed them to change colors every time they caught the light, and turned them into earrings. We'd been having a nice, albeit a little strained conversation ever since her thank you note. Her owl was a tiny, jet black thing with huge green eyes and a love for carrots. It had snatched one right off of Mrs. Dalton's plate when it had showed up at the window during dinner last night.

Lee had been coming over every evening, showing up at the apparition point around midnight and then flying his broom up to her window like something out of a fairytale. Noel would never admit it, but I knew it thrilled her. She'd been too preoccupied to so much as snap at her mother.

After they were done, he would sometimes rap softly on my door and say good night. It was very odd. I was pretty certain he just wanted someone else to validate that this was all happening in case someone at school wanted proof.

Tomorrow was the train back to school, and classes resumed the next day. I wasn't sure I was ready to go back, something I never thought I'd say, as Hogwarts had been the only welcoming environment I'd ever known. But the Daltons had more than been hospitable. They'd treated me like I was their own daughter, buying me presents and making sure I had all the supplies I needed for the upcoming months, doting on me – well, mostly Noel's mother. Mr. Dalton was kind too, though, and he was charming when he wasn't screaming into fire places.

I sighed as I observed myself in the mirror. I looked like a different version of myself as I pulled and prodded at my skin. The broad shoulders and stance of confidence were new. The boldness of my stare was unfamiliar. I didn't look like the meek, timid person I thought I had to be for so long.

My right hand wrapped around the necklace of its own accord as my gaze fell upon it, and my thumb stroked the familiar edge of the book charm. I was going to visit Cedric today.

It was something that I had decided to do before I went back to Scotland. Noel had told me where I would find his grave when I had brought the topic up as casually as I could. My stomach clenched in knots. I'd been unable to eat anything at breakfast; I'd barely choked down my tea. The Daltons were under the impression that I was doing school shopping today, the only kind of shopping that Noel would not want to do, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to go alone.

The cemetery was right near a small wizarding pub that had a fireplace hooked up to the Floo Network, and I was grateful I would not need the Knight Bus. For the past two years I had taken that godforsaken vehicle to Diagon Alley for actual school shopping, but now that I could apparate I hoped never to ride it again.

Stepping as quietly as possible, I made my way to the parlor where the Daltons had a large, marble hearth. My sweaty palms grabbed a handful of powder from the pot and I tossed it into the fire, stepping in once the flames reached a suitable height. "Wolvercote Cemetery," I said as loudly as I dared.

I went spinning past grate after grate; the cemetery was in Oxford, a long way away from Noel's manor in Bath. I cursed as my toe slipped out of line and stubbed itself on someone's door. After about sixty seconds, the fire began to fade and I heard the sounds of clanking cutlery and smell of eggs and sausage.

I exchanged a nod with an old man in an apron who was walking past carrying at least eight dishes on his right arm and made my way out the door as quickly as possible. This pub didn't exactly have a white picket fence around it, and some of the patrons were eyeing me like I was their meal.

It was a beautiful day, something rare for England. There was no wind, no rain, no slush on the ground. It was dry and the sun was high in the sky, revealing the wall manicured lawn of a ginormous cemetery beyond the hill. There weren't many people walking about, although it was still early. Some people might still be sleeping, but I had always been a morning person. When I was younger I would wake up at six in the morning so that I would have proper time to read my books before I had to go to school, a habit I kept up even now.

This part of the country had minimal amounts of snow; Bath was absolutely buried in it, and Scotland was even worse. There was so much green still, even in the dead of winter. Cedric must have loved living here. It was beautiful.

As I approached the wrought-iron gate bearing the name Wolvercote, I dug my wand from my robes pocket. "Point me," I whispered, and it spun to my immediate right. I followed it east for a long while, so long that I actually began to perspire under the intense rays of light that rested on my shoulders.

I rounded a corner and found myself in a quiet, private section of the cemetery that had marble tombstones and expensive flower wreaths resting upon them. The Diggorys had an entire section for their family; I counted six graves in all, though Cedric's was by far the largest and best maintained. I found myself unable to approach it. A squirrel leapt out of a nearby tree and scurried across the ground by my feet, causing me to jump and gasp.

My heart was beating against my chest painfully. I forced myself to walk four more paces. I could read the engravings. 12 September, 1977 to 24 June, 1995. A shudder ran down my spine and I felt the familiar sting of tears gathering in the corners of my eyes.

Another step. Another shiver. "Why is this so hard?" I whispered to myself. I could picture what his body looked like as he appeared in front of the stands, Harry sobbing over him. He'd been stiff, his skin tinged slightly gray. I could still hear his father's cries ringing in my ears, and I wondered if the footprints in the mud belonged to him.

I knelt down on the ground about six feet in front of the tombstone, as close as I dared to get. "Hi Cedric," I began, feeling silly but also scared. "I miss you. I can't believe you're…not here. I still see you everywhere; in the Great Hall rolling your eyes at Patrick and Terrence having an eating contest, in Charms class bent over your notes and scrawling that chicken scratch of yours, on the quidditch pitch flying higher than everyone, so concentrated on finding the snitch. I think about you all the time."

My voice caught and I took a moment to gather myself. "I think there's something that I have to accept though. We were only ever supposed to be friends. If I dwell on the what ifs forever, I'll be miserable forever. But if there's anything you've taught me, it's that you better grab what's in front of you while you can, because nothing is guaranteed. And let's face it; we were great friends, but that was all. I don't even know if you thought of me as more than that but I loved you.

"I'll always love you. You're-" I caught myself. "You _were_ an amazing person. You put a smile on my face so many times when I thought I'd forgotten how. You curbed my loneliness. You fulfilled my quest for companionship. And you'll always be right here," I said softly, my hand finding my heart.

There were so many other things I wanted to say, so much more that I desperately needed him to understand, but my mind was moving too quickly for me to focus and my eyes were fast filling with tears, clouding my vision. It was all I could do to keep my quaking legs from giving out on me. Slowly I reached behind my neck and undid the clasp of the necklace. The charm slid into my waiting palm.

Using a determination I didn't know I possessed, I dragged my feet until I was right in front of the grave. I tried not to think about the fact that I was kneeling over Cedric's rotting corpse. "You should have this back," I whispered through tears. "Thank you." My voice was thick as I dug a shallow hole in the dirt, gently placing the charm into it. I stared at it for a moment, admiring the way the sun caught its light and the metal gleamed. Then in one swift movement I covered it, casting a quick charm to ensure it wouldn't be swept away. With one last glance at his grave, I turned on the spot and disapparated.

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><p><strong>AN: Hello all, I hope you liked the chapter :) So sorry it took me so long to get this up here, I've just been absolutely buried in work. Up next, Prudence returns to Hogwarts, Noel and Lee's relationship takes an interesting turn, and Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Drop a quick review and let me know your thoughts! **


	18. Back to Business

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. I also don't own the rights to the Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. Enjoy!**

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><p>I turned the page of my book, eagerly absorbing the words. With the gift certificate that Noel had gotten me for Christmas, I'd been able to purchase all kinds of new material to read. I didn't often have money to spend on books; typically, I just dug my mother's old ones out of storage when my father was passed out on the couch.<p>

"We've only just left the station, how can you already be on the second chapter?" Fred asked in disbelief as he glanced over my shoulder.

I didn't bother with a response. I didn't want to break my concentration on The Golden Compass. He pouted and pulled out his deck of Exploding Snap cards. George stopped pretending to bother with the homework he had neglected for the entire break, and Lee tore his gaze away from Noel so the three could engage in a testosterone-led tournament.

I wasn't sure what had happened over the course of 24 hours, but when Lee had joined us in our compartment, eagerly searching for a kiss, Noel had flicked her eyes at him in a brief hello and returned to her magazine. I'd never seen someone look so crushed. She had been giving him the cold shoulder for the past 20 minutes, and I wondered if perhaps they'd had a spat when he'd come over last night. But if they had, why would he have come in such a good mood?

I shook my head and focused my energy on Lyra Belacqua and her quest for her missing friend Roger. This book had just recently been published, and every newspaper was raving about it. It had not yet disappointed.

There was a knock on the compartment door. "Hey Noel, Ciaran's three compartments down telling everyone about his holiday in America, come join?"

"Oh, hi Charles," Noel said with a megawatt smile. She delicately brushed her hair behind her shoulder. "Sure, that sounds lovely."

Charles stepped back and allowed her to brush past him, shooting Lee and the twins a knowing grin. It was not returned. As soon as the door shut behind them, Lee punched it.

"What is going on with her?!" he yelled angrily, kicking the bench and scattering the Exploding Snap cards across the floor.

"Oi mate, that's my good set!" Fred protested, but Lee simply glared.

I pursed my lips and set my book down, even though it pained me to do so. "Sorry Lee, I don't know."

He eyed me suspiciously. "Did she see Dash over the break?"

"Yes," I said, cutting him off when he started to yell again. "But not for the reasons you'd think. I went with her; she returned all of the things he'd ever bought for her. He was drunk and pretty upset."

"Did he do anything?" George asked sharply, and I jumped, unaware that he'd been following the conversation.

I kept my gaze on the compartment wall. "He threw his whiskey bottle at us but it missed. I don't think he really wanted to hurt us. If he had, he wouldn't have missed. He's a professional chaser."

"That no good, drunken, arsehole," Lee snarled under his breath. It was disconcerting to see someone as carefree as him look so furious.

"That guy is a mess," Fred agreed as he straightened out his cards. "His career's going to down the drain faster than Snape running away from shampoo."

George snorted. "That joke was terrible. You're losing your touch, Forge."

The two of them set about having a pissing contest which I promptly ignored in favor of my book. Lee sat and stewed, mentally setting the trees whizzing past on fire.

It was late when Noel stumbled back into the dormitory. Grace was still living with Martin. In spite of her snottiness, I think she was genuinely afraid of her ex-best mate.

I flicked my wand at the candle on my end-side table and it burst into flames. She jumped. "You're destroying him, you know."

After dinner, which Noel had eaten at the Ravenclaw table between Charles and Ciaran, she'd dragged Lee off into the dungeons, and I had only one guess about what they'd done in the abandoned classrooms down there.

"I'm not doing anything." Noel sniffed and sat down at her desk, beginning to brush out her hair. "I told Lee from the start not to expect a relationship out of this."

I yanked back my covers and stood. "You told him you didn't want a relationship, and yet you've been exclusively seeing each other for almost a month, you spent almost three hundred pounds on him for Christmas, and you invited him over every night for a week to…shag! You actually fancy him, admit it."

She snorted at the flush that had spread across my cheeks at the mention of her and Lee's new activity. "My feelings are irrelevant. I don't want a relationship, plain and simple."

"Well Lee does, so if you actually care about him, you either stop screwing him around – literally – or you date him. You can't have your cake and it eat too," I reminded her. My legs were shaking slightly, the way they always did when I was involved in a confrontation.

She turned to me, her expression cold. "Did you give the same lecture to Cedric? Last I checked he did the same to you."

I flinched as though I'd been slapped, and her anger faded. "Prudence, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that!"

"Either way, you said it," I whispered, and I slid back into bed, pulling my hangings shut behind me.

The next day was dreadful. I'd chosen to eat breakfast in the kitchens rather than face Noel, and when I'd gotten to Charms, the only open seat was beside George. Then, Flitwick gave us a surprise exam to see what we'd learned over the holidays, and I knew I would be lucky if I passed; Charms was my worst subject and I'd only done the assigned essay on Shrinking Spells half-heartedly.

Rather than act catty like Grace, Noel had simply been giving me the silent treatment, not that I'd been seeking her out. The twins could tell there was something off between us, and George clearly wanted to ask, but after our conversation at the Leaky Cauldron I knew he wouldn't.

I'd gotten paired with Terrence in Herbology because Sprout had gotten it in her head that the seventh years were too chatty and needed to be separated. At one point the Peruvian Puffapod we were working on had grabbed hold of my hair, and he'd laughed and alerted the rest of the class to my predicament.

"Mind if I sit?" Gemma looked up at me in surprise as I stopped at her library table. She was doing Arithmancy homework with a sour expression on her face.

"Sure," she said, her countenance softening just the slightest bit. "Are you having an off day too?"

I let out a heavy sigh. "Oh yeah."

Madame Pince walked by and we both pretended to be immersed in our assignments. I pulled out my Charms book, knowing it was the last thing I wanted to do but also knowing I somehow had to make up for the horrible exam this morning. When she was gone, I set my quill down. "How was your holiday?"

"The usual. Sat around the house helping my father pick color schemes for Beauxbatons. They want new uniforms, just like every bloody year. Didn't do much else." Her jet black hair cascaded down her shoulders as she leaned over her parchment.

"You didn't see anyone from school?" I was surprised. The other Slytherin girls in our year seemed to follow her everywhere.

She smirked, but her eyes lacked humor. "No, I used my break to get away from everyone. I'm a Slytherin because I'm ambitious and smart. The rest of my house are Slytherins because they think dirt runs through the veins of everyone not part of the Sacred 28."

"The Sacred 28? You mean like those families who are fabled to be the only 'true' Purebloods left?" I asked wryly.

"Technically it's true," Gemma pointed out, "but I'd rather be a half-blood than a child of incest."

I snorted but quickly covered it up as Madame Pince shot me a dirty look. "It's just horrible that there's a list, you know? Like if you're not on it you're not important."

She smiled sadly. "Sickening, isn't it? That's why I had to get away. It's a bit heavy being surrounded by these people every day. They all know where I stand and they don't dare cross me because I'm much better at hexes than they are, but it doesn't stop the talk in the common room or at the house table."

"I'm sorry," I said, and I meant it. I had never before considered that there was anyone in that house that did not put stock in the pureblood community, or what it must be like for them. "You can come over to our common room any time you want."

"Right," Gemma snorted. "I think about half of the Hufflepuffs would start crying out of fear and the rest would throw dirt at me or something."

I frowned. "Hey, that was very stereotypical."

She raised a brow. "Am I wrong?"

"Admittedly a lot of the Hufflepuffs are afraid of your house…" I ignored her triumphant cheer. "But we do _not _throw dirt! And not all of us like Herbology."

"I'm fairly certain you're the only Hufflepuff with a dislike for it, though."

I rolled my eyes and returned to my charms textbook, but I couldn't stop a smile from creeping across my face.

Hours later, after I'd successfully spent my entire evening in the library avoiding everyone but Gemma, I was forced to return to my dormitory by an ill-tempered Madame Pince. I walked the corridors quickly with my wand out, a defensive spell on my tongue. It had been a month, but my mind refused to let me forget about Montague's attack. Whether or not he'd meant to kill me I wasn't sure, but I couldn't curb my fears of another ambush.

Finally I made it to the common room, and the familiar earthy smell invaded my nostrils and slowly eased the tension from my shoulders. Grace, for once, was sitting alone. She actually looked friendly for a moment as her eyes set on me, but then her nose wrinkled and her mouth screwed up like she'd sucked on a lemon. "Problem, Prude?"

I ignored her and continued down the tunnel to the dormitory. Noel stiffened from her position at her desk as I walked past her and into the loo. Leaning over the sink, I allowed the tap to wash away the grime and irritation of the day.

As I straightened up and caught my reflection in the mirror, my eyes automatically drifted to the silver chain that rested against my collarbone. It looked wrong without the book charm there, nestled between the locket and the dove. I'd kept it carefully hidden from George, wearing my robes buttoned to my throat all day, but he was bound to see it eventually. We had a DA meeting tomorrow night, and I always got so hot and sticky after an hour of practice that there was no way I'd be able to keep my robes on.

"You can't be stuck on Cedric forever," I whispered to myself as I brushed my teeth. I clutched the dove the same way I'd held the book so many times, but it felt too smooth in my fingers, didn't give me the same sense of satisfaction and comfort. There were no ridges for me to rub my thumb against, nothing to remind me of his blue-gray eyes that seemed nearly silver when he smiled or the way his hair looked in the mornings after a shower.

"He's gone," I said to myself as I slid the floss in between my teeth. "Gone."

Finally, when there was nothing left to do but change into my pajamas and climb into bed, I reentered the dormitory, still avoiding eye contact.

"Are you ever going to speak to me?"

I was caught off guard by the sadness in her voice. I was used to her sarcastic tones, and her arrogant preens, but now she was sitting huddled in her chair with a large, hole-filled sweater adorning her body. "Are you all right?"

It came spilling out of my mouth before I could remember the cruel words she'd spoken to me last night.

"Well, I really hate myself right now. I never cared about being a good person before I actually got to know you. Grace was my only 'real' friend but I hated her and I knew she hated me too. I was always doing the worst, most immature things to try and get under her skin, and we were always competing to see whose affections we could win and how quickly…

"I depended on nothing but my looks because that's all my mother ever taught me, and that's how I fell into a relationship with Dash. I told you," her voice was quivering now. "I told you my first time was with Christopher when we were in fifth year but that's not true."

Noel hiccupped and my hands stilled, the buttons of my flannel top only halfway done. "In third year, after we won our first and only game of the season, there was a party in the common room. Everyone under fifteen was supposed to leave, but Grace and I snuck back down. Everybody was all over Dash, because it was his goal-scoring that had gotten us the victory."

I briefly remembered being frustrated with the noise that night as I tried to sleep. She continued. "Grace wanted to snog him, but when she tried, he told her to get lost, that she was just a kid. I knew that if I succeeded where she failed that I would have something to hold over her head, so I approached him and whispered in his ear that I'd be waiting in his room."

My stomach churned uncomfortably.

"I wasn't planning on sleeping with him of course…I was thirteen, the most I'd ever fantasized about was a bit of tongue with some older quidditch player but Dash had assumed that I'd meant much more. I was too mortified to admit that I'd brought him away from the party just for a snog, and he was so handsome that I didn't want him to think I was a loser." A couple of tears dripped from her eyes but she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice.

"It hurt, actually, really badly, and he made fun of my polka-dotted knickers. He tore them apart telling me that I didn't need little girl panties anymore. I was so disgusted that as soon as it was over I ran downstairs and out the tunnel. I sat in a classroom by myself all night until I was sure I could compose myself, and then I bribed a prefect to let me into their bathroom so I could clean up without anyone seeing me."

Noel's saga with Dash had spanned for five years now, then. He'd taken her virginity just after her pubescence had dawned. The thought somehow made me sicker than I felt about the accidental pregnancy. "Noel I'm – I had no idea."

There was a bitter smile on her face as she finally looked over at me. "I hated myself so much those next several months. I didn't even touch another boy until fifth year. I was afraid that if I even got close to one that he would know I wasn't a virgin, and everyone would call me a slag. But the point of this all is that I hate myself even more right now than I did back then. Because I hurt you and you're the best person I know."

"You can't know very many people then," I said softly, mirroring the words I'd spoken to Gemma only a few weeks ago. I timidly rested a hand on her shoulder and she grabbed onto it, her palms slick with tears.

"I'm so sorry Prudence, I didn't mean it, I swear! I'm just not used to being treated kindly. You and Lee, you've both been nicer to me than anyone I ever interacted with before. I mean, Grace used to tell me I looked fat in order to shake my confidence before tests in the hopes that she could score higher than me. And Dash, well, we both know what happened there," Noel said.

I stroked her hair softly. "I know. And I understand. I'm sorry for forcing the issue."

She stood and I helped her into her bed. Her frame was so tiny beneath her large jumper and she almost looked like a child. "I told Lee what he was getting into and I won't change it. I can't have another relationship like what I had with Dash. And no matter how many times Lee calls me beautiful or how much he courts me like I'm royalty, I know there's something ugly under there. All guys have it, and it's only a matter of time until their true colors show."

I went to bed pondering her words that night. Her perception of men had been warped so badly. Despite my father's actions towards me, Cedric had been my beacon of shining hope throughout the years that kept me from falling into despair like Noel had. I supposed it was hard to imagine a life with Prince Charming when all your time was spent with people like Dash. I wondered how long it would take until Lee proved himself to her, if he would wait long enough for her to come around. If he didn't, I wasn't sure Noel would ever have any sort of faith in romance again.

"Look, it's a rare sighting! A wild Prudence Turner has emerged from her den! How can she stand the sunlight?" Fred cried jokingly as I slid in beside them.

I rolled my eyes. "I was only eating in the kitchens for a day. Besides, you went nearly the entire break without seeing me."

"And we missed you terribly," he said, stroking his head along my shoulder like a cat. I slapped him lightly on the forehead until he retreated.

George snorted into his goblet. "Take that back yet, Freddie?"

Dramatically, Fred clutched my hand and held it to his heart. "Never! No matter what she says, no matter what she does, my heart will always, always-"

He caught Angelina's glare. "Partially belong to my very dearest and most platonic friend," Fred finished in a rush, tossing my hand back on the table. I rolled my eyes and picked up the Prophet. There was nothing new except for more Looney Dumbledore/Harry garbage.

"Everything all right on your end?" George asked quietly as Fred was now loudly trying to coax McGonagall's essay out of Angelina.

"How long have you been holding your tongue?" I asked.

He elbowed me lightly. "You can't chew me out for wanting to make sure that you're all right. I am allowed to care about you."

"No, you're right," I agreed. "Everything is fine. There was a small thing with Noel but I think we've reached an understanding."

She caught my gaze and smiled. Lee was ignoring her in favor of his kippers, but she didn't look like she minded. I grinned back, and made myself a cup of tea.

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><p>"Right, now I know that many of you haven't had a chance to practice over the holidays because you're underage, so I want to dedicate this entire meeting to working on our Patronuses. What do you lot think?" Harry asked, his green eyes scanning over our eager faces.<p>

Everyone cheered. Fred and George set off a round of fireworks before Hermione shot them down and sent them a pointed look. I hid my grin.

"Right, so find your own space to work, and remember: happy memories! If it's not working, the memory you're using probably isn't strong enough," Harry said, and we all dispersed throughout the room.

In spite of all my efforts, the only thing I'd been able to see of my patronus had been hooves. For the past month I had been working solidly with the memory of my mother bringing me to the pond, but perhaps since it had been so long ago it had lost some of its strength. It was a good thing I had a new memory of the pond to use.

"Expecto patronum!" I cried, and a large mass of silver mist erupted from the end of my wand. The shape was a little more obvious. Was it…

"A horse?" Luna inquired, tilting her head to observe the vapor.

I chewed on my lip. "I don't think so. It looks too large."

Harry stepped around an extremely concentrated Neville to stand beside me. "That was really good, just put a bit more focus into it. What was the weather like in your memory? Who was there? What were they wearing? What part of it made you the most happy? The more you're connected with it, the stronger the spell will be."

"You're really good at this," I told him nervously. I hated whenever Harry watched me. He had been through so much already, had experienced danger up close. The nearest I'd come to peril was with Montague, and I had been less than courageous, turning my back on the confrontation.

"You are too. Just, concentrate," he told me.

I shut my eyes for a moment and pictured the five of us traipsing through the forest. I saw Lee trip over the log, and heard their applause as I landed my double axel. I felt the twins' hands in mine as I slowly trailed them around the pond's perimeter, laughing every time one of them stumbled. "Expecto patronum!"

I staggered back slightly from the force as something burst forth from my wand, my arm trembling under the power of the spell. A large, gleaming unicorn turned around to stare at me for a moment, before turning tail and galloping the length of the room.

"Wow…" Parvati Patil sighed. Every single person in the room lowered their wands and watched the mystic animal gallivant around, tracing a path through the air with such delicacy and grace that I had long since ceased breathing. Having a patronus of a mythical creature was extremely rare nowadays. I wasn't sure what this meant.

Just as suddenly as it appeared, the unicorn vanished, leaving behind no trace of its beauty.

"You did it!" Harry said approvingly. "Well done!"

Hardly believing it, I turned and found Fred and George right behind me. They enveloped me into a strong embrace and began jumping up and down.

People swarmed over to congratulate me, to pat me on the back and beg for tips. I had no answers for them. All I could do was smile apologetically and wish them luck. Hermione watched me enviously as I cast a successful corporeal for the second time, although it didn't last nearly as long. I was the first person besides Harry to have completed the spell.

After summoning it a third time, I felt rather lightheaded and decided to sit down and watch everyone else. Both Hermione and Cho were close; Cho's was some type of bird, I could tell by the wings. Lee was struggling desperately, but Noel looked like she was in complete control. Hers took the shape of a four-legged mammal, but it was not yet discernible.

The practice went on for another hour. Luna, surprisingly, had been the next to cast her full patronus, a friendly hare that hopped around and sniffed at Alicia and Katie's heads. No one else had managed, but more than half the club was close.

"So Prudence," Noel said as she sauntered over, flanked by Lee and the twins. "What were you thinking of that allowed you to do it?"

I blushed slightly. "I was thinking about the day we went ice skating. It was a really happy day."

Fred and Lee both pretended to be so overcome with emotion at my words that they began to fan themselves and shower my head with kisses. When they were finished, my hair was in knots and my sweater was askew.

"Can we go back now, before we miss curfew?" Trying to hide his smirk, George led the way. Despite their common room being a minute's walk away, the three of them insisted on escorting us down to the first floor. I knew they were more worried about another attack than they were letting on, especially with how unruly the Slytherins had become.

Noel strutted at the head of the group, acting as though Lee wasn't beside her trying to initiate conversation. Fred was playing a game where he tried to mimic the way both Noel and Lee were walking, and his impersonations were so spot on that I had to laugh.

"Don't think I didn't notice," George said suddenly, and my hand flew to my heart. I hadn't noticed him slow to match his pace with mine.

"Notice what?" My brow furrowed in confusion.

He glanced sideways at me. "That the book charm is gone."

I swallowed and made to tuck the necklace beneath my shirt, but he reached out a hand to stop me. His fingers ran over the dove, the back of his hand lightly brushing my skin. I was sure he felt how strongly my heart was beating.

Then, without warning, he released the necklace and it bounced lightly against my chest. "Just an observation."

"I er, thought three was too much for one necklace." My voice was hardly more than a whisper.

"Funnily enough, I agree with you," George said lightly, tucking his hands into his pockets. I shuddered and hurried my steps so I caught up with Fred. I wasn't really sure what had just transpired.

* * *

><p>"Why did I take this class?" I yawned. "All I want is to be in my warm, cozy bed right now."<p>

Lee looked at me very seriously. "Because you are an overachiever who thinks you're better than all of us."

"Knows I'm better," I corrected with a sleepy smile. None of them stopped me when I ran into a wall.

I loathed Wednesdays. Not only was it a day with Charms and Herbology (I received an Acceptable on the exam), but I'd had rounds during which I'd been forced to stay with Martin, thanks to a threat by Jennifer, and I had my Astronomy class at midnight.

My legs groaned in protest as we climbed; Noel, who was in this class as well, had opted to skip in favor of beauty sleep. I tried not to despise her as we hit the 100th stair mark. The class passed dreadfully slowly. We were supposed to be analyzing the different positions of Mars, but it was cloudy out and my eyes would not cooperate. Not to mention, Fred and George kept hitting me with the Rictusempra jinx. I would more than likely be going to Potions tomorrow morning with a black eye from jumping while gazing through my telescope.

"Raise your hand if you're glad that's over," Lee yawned. We were all too exhausted to lift our arms.

Once again, the three of them insisted on walking me back. I didn't even bother to argue this time; all I wanted was my bed. As we made it down to the fourth floor, I picked up the pace, eager to be able to sleep. I rounded the corner, my sights set on the staircase just a few more feet down the corridor when suddenly something stepped out from behind a tapestry.

I choked on my scream.

"So this is your school, huh? It's as strange and pathetic as you," my father snarled. His chin was marked with stubble and his tie was undone. His right hand clutched the familiar bottle of whiskey that had been haunting my dreams for years.

"You leave your mother for this? Why should you get to live when she doesn't? What makes you so special?" He demanded an answer as Fred, George, and Lee stepped into my peripheral but I could do nothing but let out a terrified squeak.

"You're worthless, you know that? You mean nothing to me. You can't do anything right. You know something? You're my biggest regret."

My father stepped menacingly towards me, his free hand working his belt loose. He lunged and the bottle dropped to the floor with a loud, shattering sound. At the same moment I screamed and scrambled backwards, my only thought to get as far away from him as possible.

Someone caught my arms and lowered me gently to the ground. George leapt in front and then there was a dead Fred sprawled across the corridor. "Ridikulus!" he cried, and Lee summoned a large chest from midair, which he and the real Fred then wrestled the boggart into.

It was over almost as quickly as it happened. George knelt down in front of me. "Prudence? Can you hear me?"

My breath was coming out quick and fast and my head spun. There were various redheads in my line of vision but I wasn't sure if I was seeing things or if Fred had knelt down, too. My hands trembled so badly that George reached out and clutched them in his own to still the motion.

"Prudence, it was just a boggart," Fred said quietly. "That's all it was."

I shook my head wildly. There was a hard, painful knot in my chest and I couldn't take in enough air to get rid of it.

"Prudence, look at me!" George commanded, and his tone was so stern that my eyes flew to his. "Good. Repeat after me: that was a boggart. What I saw wasn't real. It's over now. I'm safe."

I finally sucked in a big gust of air and exhaled. "That was a boggart. It wasn't real. It's over. I'm safe."

"Keep going," he urged me. I could feel Fred and Lee staring at me. George was the only one here who had witnessed one of my panic attacks before. I spoke the words over and over until I felt my hands still in his, and my heart rate began to slow.

As soon as I had my bearings I pulled away from George and buried my head in my hands. A few tears leaked through, cooling the red flush of my cheeks. I was mortified. I hadn't wanted anyone to know about my father, ever. I hadn't wanted to expose yet another one of my faults. I hadn't wanted to give them further proof of how weak I was.

I felt a shift of weight and then the three of them were seated beside me.

"We won't tell anyone if you don't want us to," Fred said, and I raised my head, observing him with my cheek resting on my knees. "We're really good at keeping secrets."

"Yeah, our lips are sealed!" Lee added, miming zipping his mouth, locking it and throwing away the key.

I looked at George. He looked sad. "Please don't think differently of me," I whispered, and another tear slipped out of the corner of my eye.

He swiped it away with his thumb. "Wouldn't dream of it, love."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Bet none of you expected an update this quick! Really, I just wanted to procrastinate on my homework, which I shall now unfortunately go do. What did you guys think? Too much action? Not enough action? Want me to get to the good stuff?**

**Next up: Valentine's Day is coming, and Prudence and George find themselves in a compromising position.**


	19. Would You Rather

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Prudence, please, I'm desperate!"<p>

I sighed and tried not to give in to Lee's puppy dog eyes. It had been a month since we'd returned to school and Noel was still playing hot potato with his feelings. "Lee, I can't tell her what to do and I won't spill her secrets to you. If you don't know them, it's for a reason."

He blocked my way as I tried to step around him. He'd cornered me on the way to dinner, and in the crowd Fred and George hadn't realized. "All I want to know is if there's any hope for something legitimate. Am I wasting my time?"

"No," I said, almost against my will. I wanted Noel to give Lee a shot almost as badly as he did, but my loyalty to her prevented me from helping him. "Just…give it time."

"How much?" he cried, and for a moment he looked truly lost. "It's been two months since we started snogging, and three weeks since we started shagging. I'm about ready to give up on this. It's bloody horrible every time I try to acknowledge what we have in public and she goes off and finds some other bloke to cozy up to."

A cluster of Ravenclaws walked by us, and I drew him closer to the wall. "Look. You need to tell her how you feel. _Don't _try to convince her of anything, just lay your cards on the table. Ask her for one date, one real date to see if she feels the possibility of…anything. That way it's on your terms but she's got a choice, yeah?"

"Yeah…" a slow smile slid across his face. He was ridiculously easy to please sometimes. "Thanks a million, Prudence."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't mention it. Now can we please go eat?"

"Sure thing, friend!" he said, tossing an arm around my shoulder. Every time Lee showed me something honest he always rebounded by making everything into an amusing joke.

This had, by far, been the longest month of my life. Noel seemed on the verge of a nervous breakdown every other day, Lee had been pestering me nonstop, I'd hardly spoken two words to George, there'd been a ginormous increase of assignments to do and Grace had moved back in. It was hard enough having five hours of homework to do on top of a full day of classes with rounds without having to endure pointed remarks about my choice in company or my complete inability to get a boy to like me.

I slid in next to Ginny at the Gryffindor table, giving her a brief hello before I was dragged into conversation by her brother.

"Prudence, reckon we're ready to start selling the hats?" Fred asked me eagerly.

I'd gone back to testing their products, although this time around I was helping them with the improvements as well. There was a surprising amount of work and thought put into each and every item. "Oh…well…how many are ready?"

"Two dozen," George replied promptly. "Course, we have about two hundred order forms prepared."

I nodded, pulling a few biscuits onto my plate. "Then yeah, I think start selling. You should do it in the Viaduct between classes tomorrow, you'll catch people from all years and houses that way. Right before lunch, so no one's pressured by time."

"I could kiss you," Fred breathed, his eyes as wide as galleons. "That's brilliant!"

George set down his fork and raised a brow. "Easy there, mate."

I flushed and finished my dinner in silence, avoiding any and all contact with George. The three of them began to plan their sales pitch for the next day, their voices eager. I caught Gemma's eye across the hall and she mimed yawning as she listened to Astoria Greengrass speak with her nose in the air. I grinned and ducked my head behind my goblet.

Grace was sitting with a few of the fifth and sixth year Hufflepuffs, none of whom looked to please to be sharing her company. Rumor had it that Martin had finally broken up with her when he found her snogging Terrence Higgs in the dungeons. A small part of me felt sorry for her for being such a small, small person that no one seemed able to put up with her for very long, Noel being the champion in that category. Mostly I just felt nothing. Her remarks about Cedric and George were very unwarranted and nothing but petty and malicious.

With a sigh I finished eating and wandered back to my dormitory. It was early, and I had homework that I should probably be doing, but all I wanted was to curl up in my bed with a good book. It wasn't often that I had time to myself anymore. I was either in class with Noel, Lee, and the twins, or I was in the library with Gemma, or doing rounds with Martin. Lately I hadn't been able to get the dorm to myself either; Grace had been spending an awful lot of time here now that she didn't have Martin to boss around.

As I slipped my school sweater and blouse over my head, the charms on the necklace slid along my collarbone. The dove still felt abnormal to me, but I felt like a weight had been literally lifted off of my shoulders. Wearing both George and Cedric's charms side by side felt like a constant presence of guilt, that settled deep inside of me and made being around George near impossible. Perhaps now I could watch him smile without feeling like I was going to cry.

My flannel pajamas warmed my skin and I let out a sigh of relief as I escaped from the heavy chill that hung in the air. I picked up the Golden Compass, which I hadn't had an opportunity to finish yet, and eagerly climbed under my covers, setting my bed warmer at my feet. I read for an hour, absorbing the words as quickly as I could,until I heard Grace come in and start up the shower. I took this to mean Noel would be spending the night at Lee's. For the past several nights she had gone up to his dormitory with him for a late night…rendezvous, but she had been staying over. Like it or not, she had feelings for Lee, and she wanted to be around him. I didn't know what game she was playing but I knew Lee wouldn't participate forever.

With a shrug, I closed my book, extinguished the light from the tip of my wand, rolled over, and drifted off to sleep. I awoke several hours later to Noel rustling around in her trunk.

"Oi, when did you get back?" I whispered, squinting at her in the dark as I peered through my hangings.

She tossed her hair back. "Lee told me he didn't want me to stay. Said you had a potions exam later, wanted to get proper rest. Go back to sleep."

I sighed and fell back against my pillow. It looked like Lee was already quitting the game.

* * *

><p>"Come on, come on, step right up birds and blokes!" Fred cried into the large crowd of scarlet, blue, and yellow that had amassed in front of him.<p>

"Headless Hats, guaranteed to last for three hours!" George shouted.

Fred snatched up the pink feather-covered cap and, with a wink, placed it on his head, which promptly disappeared. Everyone shrieked in laughter and eagerly surged forward for a better look.

"Two galleons each, and every Hogwarts student gets a second one for free if they order in advance," Fred spoke, whipping the hat off. I jumped, in spite of having watched this happen several dozen times. Magic still amazed me constantly, and so did Fred and George.

Hermione was standing at the very back, looking disapproving and glancing around nervously. She scowled as Harry and Ron pushed their way forward and crossed her arms over her chest.

The twins were now allowing various students to test the product, to Hermione's chagrin and the crowd's amusement. I suppressed a smile and dutifully passed out order form after order form into the fervent mob. Within five minutes my stack was gone, and Lee was distributing his last ones.

"Hem hem."

George's expression darkened as we exchanged a look. Umbridge was standing directly behind us, a pink bow perched atop her head and a group of Slytherins at her side wearing identical smirks.

"These students brought to my attention that two Gryffindors were soliciting their fellow classmates in the Viaduct."

"They're called Headless Hats," Fred said, his tone mischievous. "Care to try one?"

Without waiting for a response, Fred and George suddenly dived through the crowd and shoved the product on her head, which promptly vanished. The crowd burst into laughter as Umbridge's head came back into view, her hair disheveled and her bow lopsided.

"Need I remind you, Misters Weasley, that you already have a lifetime ban on quidditch thanks to your assault on Mr. Malfoy." Her tone was sweet, but her eyes glittered with venom.

I saw Fred's hands clench into fists. Ever so lightly, I placed my hand on his arm and shook my head. Any more serious trouble and they wouldn't be graduating. George's eyes flickered over to me for the briefest of seconds, and I yanked my hand back.

"I think two weeks of detention for this," Umbridge said smugly. "Don't you agree?"

The Slytherins bobbed their heads, their smirks widening until their faces looked distorted.

"And one week for Mister Jordan and Miss Turner for assisting with this little scheme."

My heart sunk. A week? I'd only ever had the one detention. There was no way that I could write lines for her for a week. I wouldn't have a hand by the end of it. And my father would most certainly be getting a letter.

George stepped in front of me. "They didn't do anything! You can't punish them just for standing next to us."

"Oh I can assure you Mr. Weasley, as High Inquisitor I can punish exactly as I see fit." Her toad-like mouth twisted into an unpleasant smile as she turned on her pink heel and clacked away.

Harry clapped the twins on their shoulders, leading the crowd back into the school, which was eager to disperse now that Umbridge had ruined the fun.

"Prudence…"

I ignored Fred and walked quickly to the half-wall, pulling myself up and resting my head on my knees. I sucked in a deep breath as I tried to steady myself, but I'd never been good at controlling my panic attacks.

"I can go to McGonagall if you want, see if she'll speak up on your behalf," George offered quietly.

I whipped my head up and looked him in the eye. "My father's going to get a letter. Do you know what he does when he gets a letter from the school?"

All three of their faces morphed into pity and that was enough for me. I leapt to my feet and walked out of the Viaduct as fast as my legs could carry me, ignoring their calls.

* * *

><p>I couldn't help it. I let out a small whimper of pain as tears welled in my eyes. I could feel George's eyes on me as I bit down on my lip hard enough to draw blood. It was day three of our detentions, and we were writing the line, 'I will not solicit my classmates.'<p>

I let out another hiss of pain as the 's' of 'solicit' cut deeply into my skin.

"It's been two hours Professor, it's nearly curfew." Fred set his quill down lightly and stared up at Umbridge challengingly.

"You will finish when I say so, Mr. Weasley," she responded with a sickening smile.

A tear dripped from my eye and created a large blotch on my parchment as I forced myself to keep writing.

"Can't you see she's in pain? I think she's got the message!" Lee cried as another tear fell.

"I'll finish her bloody lines for her," George growled, snatching the parchment away from me. My hand shook as I dropped the quill onto the desk.

Umbridge's grin widened. "I think not, Mr. Weasley. Miss Turner here needs to learn her lesson, just like you do. Nasty children do not get out of their punishments."

Barely controlling the sobs that were building in my chest, I placed the parchment back in front of me and picked up the quill with a stiff hand. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been in this much physical agony. Perhaps never.

I jumped as a there was a loud crash from out in the corridor.

Umbridge's eyes narrowed. "Stay here," she hissed, and stalked from the room. I chucked the quill across the desk.

"Prudence, are you all right?" George asked quietly. "Let me see your hand."

"I don't know why it's bleeding so much," I sniffed, ignoring his gentle, callused fingers as they softly stroked my skin.

Lee grabbed my quill and twirled it between his fingers as he examined it. "It's got a bigger point, do you see? It's at least half an inch longer than any of ours."

I opened my mouth, ready to start spewing vicious insults, when suddenly Noel appeared in the doorway with Ginny.

"We convinced Peeves to start destroying Flitwick's old classroom on the third floor. Umbridge will be there all night trying to get him to stop, so get your stuff and let's go!" Noel whispered.

I frowned but grabbed my bag with my good hand and conjured bandages for the other. "Ginny, what are you doing here?"

She shrugged. "I ran into Noel as she was trying to reason with Peeves and decided to help."

"What did you two offer him to make him agree?" Fred asked curiously.

Noel smirked. "Found a load of dungbombs in your room and gave them to Peeves, but don't worry. I charmed them so they could only target Umbridge and the Slytherins."

"That last bit was my idea!" Ginny spoke up proudly.

Fred and George ruffled her hair and even though my entire left hand was throbbing, I smiled in spite of myself.

"I've got some Murtlap waiting in our dormitory if you guys need it," Noel offered, suddenly shy.

Lee glanced sideways at her, and George at me. "I think we should just be getting back to our own room," Lee coughed. "It's been a long day. Thanks, though."

"Yeah, no problem." Noel flicked her hair back in her typical fashion, but I saw a faint flush in her cheeks.

As I watched George, his gait casual and his posture confident, I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed. Sometimes, like now, I didn't care what we'd decided at the Leaky Cauldron. All I wanted was to be close to him, to hear him talk and see him laugh at one of Lee's corny jokes. To look at him looking at me.

"Hey, make sure you soak those bandages in some Murtlap, and wrap your hand before you sleep," George said softly, unwilling to disturb the quiet that had overtaken the castle.

I avoided his gaze and nodded, allowing the sounds of Noel's high heels to guide me down the corridor and to the common room.

I had another nightmare, but this time instead of it being just Cedric, George had found his way there too. I watched both of them get twisted and tortured by an anonymous villain, the horrid, molten silver of the mask shielding his cowardly identity. My screams were silent but woke me with a gasp as I choked on my terror. I stayed pinned to my twisted sheets for hours, my hands clutching the fabric tightly as the sun rose.

Wordlessly I slid from my bed and stumbled into the shower.

Thirty minutes later, Noel and I were making our way towards the Great Hall for breakfast. We groaned as we opened the doors and were showered in pink and red confetti.

"I'd forgotten," I sighed.

"I didn't," Noel scowled, flicking the colored paper off of her shoulders and grumbling her way to the Gryffindor Table. Fred, George, and Lee were eating their breakfast quietly, the former the only one who looked even remotely happy.

I nudged him with my elbow. "What's got you turned into a big ball of sunshine on this ridiculous holiday?"

He turned to me and grinned. "I've got a date with Angie tonight. Course, it'll have to wait til tonight thanks to her all-day quidditch practice, but that just gives me more time to set up."

"Eurgh." Noel glowered into her goblet and made faces at several happy Ravenclaws who were feeding each other strawberries and exchanging presents.

Lee looked up from his plate for the first time since we'd sat down. "Fancy a snog?"

I blinked at this sudden change of attitude, but Noel merely shrugged and put down her fork. "All right."

I stared after them incredulously as the two departed, walking on opposite sides of the table.

"So, what are your plans for the day?" Fred asked as though nothing had happened.

"Well...I suppose George and I could head down to the village and pick up a few firewhiskeys. Then we could find unsuspecting couples and prank them," I responded, trying my hardest to sound casual. In reality the thought of being alone with him was enough to make my heart pound.

George gaped at me like he'd never seen me before. "I thought you didn't drink?"

A small blush spread across my cheeks. "I don't, but I figured I could get a laugh out of you when you're completely knackered."

"Who are you and what have you done with our Prudence?" Fred demanded.

I shrugged into my tea.

* * *

><p>"Oh Byron, I'm so glad you asked me to Hogsmeade," George said in a breathy voice, pretending to swoon.<p>

I laughed. "Me too, Lisa, me too. Have you had the chance to check out how good my hair looks right now? I think the wind is giving it an extra something, yeah?"

The two of us snorted as we observed two fourth years canoodling on a bench outside from the shop window of Zonko's. It was surprisingly easy being in his company, although there were times I'd catch him looking at me when he thought I wasn't paying attention. Mostly though, it was fun. Right now we were creating conversations between the happy couples that wandered by, while the shop owner rolled his eyes at us.

After the fourth years moved on to Madame Pudifoot's, I rewrapped my scarf around my neck. "Fancy going to the pub and getting some drinks to go?"

"You were serious about getting me drunk?" George asked in amusement.

"I just figured you might want some drinks to make it through your detention tonight," I offered.

He winced. "Ah, perhaps you're right. To the Three Broomsticks!"

I followed him as he literally charged down the streets of Hogsmeade, his fists in the air. I sighed and quickened my pace to match his. Despite the pub being absolutely mobbed, George's height and sheer force of will got him to the front of the line in a matter of minutes, and I blushed as I tried to avoid the nasty mutters and glares aimed at us.

He ordered a case of firewhiskey, promising that it would be for Fred and Lee as well, and we set back off for the castle. It was probably for the best; Hogsmeade wasn't much fun on Valentine's Day. There were too many gushing couples and Puddifoot's actually had cherubs that tossed confetti over everyone. I'd already had enough confetti for one day and the sounds of smacking lips could be heard every time the door opened.

My eyes widened suddenly. "You don't think Noel and Lee will be…er, in your dormitory, do you?"

"If all went well, then no." George winked at me and switched the case of drinks to his other hand.

"What does that mean?" Lee had seemed extremely irritable this morning. I didn't see how anything good could come out of that.

He shrugged. "Apparently a little bird told him to ask her on a date and convince her that they would make a good couple. So he did."

I choked slightly on my spit. "He asked her out on their first date…on _Valentine's Day?_"

"I know," George mused. "That's what Fred and I said, but he had this entire scheme planned. He paid that really smart Ravenclaw kid named Torbin to help him make an illegal portkey, and he took her to London for the day. Or at least, he should have done, if Noel agreed to it."

"They left the country?" It was alarming to think of how many ways this could go wrong. "Well, how in the bloody hell are they going to get back?"

We reached the castle and eagerly stepped into the warmth of the Entrance Hall, automatically heading for the staircase. "The same way they left. Another portkey. Only this time, they'll come to in the basement of Honeyduke's and take the passageway to the fourth floor. Simple, love."

"Yes, absolutely simple." With a roll of my eyes we walked the rest of the way to Gryffindor Tower in silence. The ease of the trip to Hogsmeade was wearing off and I was beginning to get anxious. We hadn't really been alone together in over a month; even down in the village we were surrounded by other people. Part of me wished that Kenneth would be in the dormitory, although I knew he wouldn't. On Saturdays he hoarded a section of tables in the back of the libary and docked points from anyone who tried to sit in them.

"After you," George said with a small grin, gesturing towards the open portrait hole. The common room was quiet, the exception being a few glum looking first and second years playing Gobstones. I could feel my heart pounding in my throat as I climbed up the stairs and entered the room I'd become increasingly familiar with. Kenneth's quarter of the room was tidy as usual and predictably empty. Lee's tarantula was on full display but he himself was absent. Fred, of course, was somewhere setting up for his date with Angelina.

George set the firewhiskey down on his desk, cracked one open, and took a long swig. "Does it bother you that I'm drinking this?"

He'd become surprisingly adept at gauging my feelings ever since we'd run into the boggart of my father. I was sure he had many (correct) suspicions about my relationship with him now. "No," I shook my head. "I trust you."

He smiled slightly and settled onto his bed. I sat at the opposite end, keeping my feet firmly on the ground. "How's your hand doing?"

"It's…all right. Reckon I'll have these scars for a long time. Not as long as you'll have yours, though." I held my hand out, examining the swollen, pink lines in the skin.

"I still can't believe the Minister is allowing this to happen. I always knew he was thick, I just didn't know he was sadistic." George took another drink from his bottle, tilting it up to his lips. I watched him, fascinated. He didn't scare me at all; even when I watched Fred or Lee with their own drinks, I had slight misgivings. But I felt safe with George.

A swarm of butterflies developed in my stomach and I tried to silence them by pulling my legs up into my chest. "You shouldn't say things like that about the Minister, no matter how true they are. You never know what could happen."

He gave me a pointed look. "Why, are you going to go spill all of Hogwarts' secrets to him?"

"Funny." My mouth twitched downwards and I avoided his gaze. "He's already got Umbridge for that."

"I can't wait until I'm out of here," he burst suddenly. "I'm going to join the Order and make all these people pay."

I eyed him warily. "You really can't wait to be in the real world? The thought of life without Hogwarts terrifies me."

He seemed to sense my incredulity and set the bottle down on the end side table. "I just feel ready. There's only so much knowledge the professors can instill in us before we have to leave, so why not just…now?"

"Now? What do you mean?" I demanded.

George shook his head. "Nothing. Forget it."

I frowned but let the subject drop, readjusting so my legs were stretched out next to his, though we were on opposite corners of the bed. My right knee brushed his left and I shifted out of the way.

The afternoon passed more comfortably than I anticipated. Two bottles had been taken from the case, but his eyes were still bright and his words clear so I allowed myself to relax. We played Exploding Snap, and I'd lost miserably at a round of Wizard's Chess. I'd never quite gotten the hang of bossing my pieces around. They could usually sense my hesitance and often directed themselves to disastrous results.

We were now playing a foolish came called, 'Would You Rather?' that Noel had forced us to play last week in the common room. "You can't possibly prefer getting hit with a bludger every hour for a full day to _one_ bite from a hippogriff!" I exclaimed.

"Have you seen those things? They're massive! Besides, I already know what a bludger hit feels like, and depending on its force and angle, it might not even hurt at all," he argued.

I shook my head and rolled over to lay on my back. We were now side by side on the mattress, and that should have made me nervous but instead, I felt excited. I'd never been in this position with a boy before, even if it was purely platonic.

"Your turn. Would you rather…go on three dates with Kenneth, or tell Snape that he looked nice?"

I laughed. "That depends. Could I put Kenneth under a silencing spell?"

"No."

I hummed. "Could I put him in a body-bind?"

George rolled his eyes. "No."

"Could I use any magic of any kind on him?"

The two of us exchanged a glance and he snorted. "_No, _now pick one!"

"Okay, okay, I pick…three dates with Kenneth."

He nudged me with an elbow. "After all that you still pick Kenneth?!"

"Yes! Snape is scary! Besides, he'd probably dock points for even speaking to him," I reasoned.

George rolled onto his side suddenly, and his face was inches from mine. "You'd seriously go on a date, on multiple dates, with Kenneth Towler. The boy who folds his underwear. Really?"

His breath smelt of cinnamon…had he chewed gum since he'd had the firewhiskey? "He's not so bad, really…" I was distracted by the sheer number of freckles spread across his nose. Also by his right hand, which was so close to mine I could feel the heat from his fingertips.

"Prudence, this is Kenneth we're talking about." His voice deadpanned, but the corners of his mouth were tilting upwards.

"Well, who else would I go on dates with?" I inwardly gasped as the words left my lips.

George raised a brow. "There's always Fred, or Lee, or Harry, or Neville, or Snape."

I whacked him lightly in the stomach. "I would be maimed by Angelina, Noel, and Ginny alike. Not to mention Neville is two years younger and Snape is what, fifteen years older? Twenty? Gross."

"I suppose you could throw my name in there as well." His face was passive, and I couldn't tell if he was joking.

"Do you want to go on dates with me?" My voice was nothing more than a whisper at this point. I was in dangerous territory, but I couldn't stop.

A smirk spread across his face. "Maybe."

I closed my eyes at the exact moment our lips met. They were softer than I imagined, and cooler, too. My mouth buzzed as he pulled back, and even though he was only several inches away I missed him.

Any thoughts I'd ever had about Cedric vanished; all I cared about at this moment was George. His eyes were searching between my own, asking for permission. My chin dropped in a nod.

Then his right hand was on my hip, and his left one was on my face, pulling me into him, closer and closer. His heart beat steadily against my chest and his lips molded to mine in a way that made me sigh. At this encouragement George probed deeper, sliding his hand from my cheek to my hair and knotting it around his fist. His other hand moved down my thigh and back again, and I swear I could feel tingles shooting all the way up my spine.

Tentatively I stretched out a hand of my own, but didn't know where to place it. Impatiently, George wrapped it around his neck before placing both of his hands on my waist and pulling me on top of him. I felt dizzy, as though I'd been spinning around and around for a very long time, and I couldn't catch my breath, but I kissed him harder, my hands wrapped in his shirt.

"Oi, you better have saved some of that whiskey for me, Weasley!" The door slammed open and I jumped, pulling back.

I stared down at George with wide eyes, my mouth dropped open in horror.

"Prudence, why are you on top of George?" Noel's voice was sharp, and very slowly I crawled off, getting to my feet. He was staring at me, watching me carefully, not saying a word.

"I…I don't know," I whispered, touching a hand to my cheeks. They were flushed red.

Lee shrugged and cracked open one of the bottles on George's desk. "About time, I say."

Noel rounded on him. "Shut up! Shut. Up! Prudence, come with me, _now."_

She grabbed my wrist and yanked me from the room. I barely had time to throw one last glance back at George before the door closed behind us. He hadn't moved.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Does this make up for my 11 days of absence? I'm so so so so so sorry about the wait! It's just that I finish the semester in less than a week, so I've been writing papers and finishing up projects and studying and packing...but tonight I had more than 30 minutes of free time and I decided to crank this out :) Please, let me know your thoughts! This scene is something I've had planned from the very beginning and I want to know if you loved/hated it and why! **

**UP NEXT: A very irate Noel, complete and utter confusion, awkward encounters, and last but certainly not least the situation between Prudence and George comes to a head. Stay tuned! **


	20. On My Own Two Feet

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

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><p>"What the hell were you thinking?"<p>

I cringed as Noel slammed the door behind us. "I don't know, I guess I wasn't!"

Her brown eyes narrowed and her red lips puckered. "Of course you weren't. Because if you were, you would remember a boy named Cedric, who we both know you're still in love with. And now George is going to be expecting things from you!"

"Expecting things?" My stomach churned uncomfortably and my bed sank under my weight. "What do you mean?"

Noel jutted one hip out and rested her hand on it. "Well I did walk in on you straddling him."

My cheeks flushed and I buried my face in my hands. "Oh my god…"

"You realize this changes everything." Her tone was slightly softer now, and she settled onto her own bed across from me. "Care to tell me what happened?"

"Erm…I don't really know. I mean, everything was fine down in the village. We were just having a laugh about all the gooey couples and then we came back here but when we got to his dormitory everything was suddenly weird. We were both trying to act like it wasn't, but it was. We played a bunch of games for a while but then somehow we were both laying down and it turned into a game of Would You Rather." I tucked my hands under my thighs to stop their shaking.

Noel shook her head. "Such a sexual game," she whispered to herself. Then she straightened up. "Did he kiss you first?"

I nodded. "I kind of…flirted with him though. Accidentally of course!" I added quickly as her eyes snapped over to mine.

"You would accidentally flirt. You're so completely unaware."

I glowered at her as she tossed her hair back and crossed her legs. "I may not be experienced with boys the way you are but I can at least see signs."

"Oh yeah?" She raised a brow. "Then tell me how you didn't see the big flashing sign over George's head that said 'Prudence Turner welcome in my bedroom?'"

By now my entire face had turned red. "He probably wasn't even thinking about it until we were next to each other. It was all just the heat of the moment, okay?"

Noel got up and seated herself beside me. She rested her hand on my shoulder. "Love, George has been thinking about this since September. Please tell me you aren't that oblivious."

"September? We barely knew each other in September! I was still hanging around with Grace and Martin in September!"

"Me too, unfortunately," Noel whispered, once again lost in her own world. She shook her head. "Look, George took a fancy to you early on. Why else would the twins have asked _you _to test their products? Little Miss Prefect from Hufflepuff who's never spoken one word to anyone in Gryffindor House. Think about it."

I could still feel my hands shaking from beneath my legs. "I'm telling you, he didn't plan any of this! I highly doubt there's been any boy ever who's thought of me in any sort of romantic way."

I cried out as Noel slapped the back of my head. "I know you're not that thick, Prudence. Did or did Cedric not nearly kiss you in fifth year? Did or did Martin not walk you to your classes and carry your satchel for you and invite you to a party? And don't even get me started on George. That boy would follow you anywhere."

"Okay, well we don't know for sure if that's what Cedric was going to do, he could have been confused, it was very dark-" I cringed. "Would you stop hitting me? Merlin you're violent… Anyway, Martin was just honoring Cedric's wishes. He told me that Cedric would have wanted him to do that. And George and I are just friends."

"Friends who snog like they've just been injected with a large dose of hormones," Noel smirked.

I groaned and flopped backwards. "I've mucked everything up."

Noel flopped backwards as well, and her strawberry blonde locks blending with my own dark strands. "Well you've got to be honest. Do you still have feelings for Cedric? And I mean any feelings whatsoever. The tiniest of tiny feelings."

There was a puncture of laughter down the tunnel, and it faded as a door across the hall slammed shut. "I'm trying so hard not to…every time I think I've gotten over him he shows up in my nightmares or I catch sight of the prefect badge on Martin's chest or I watch the new seeker head off to practice with his broom and then wham! But I get the same feelings about George every time I look at him. And he's been in my nightmares too." I mumbled the last part and turned my head away.

"This is tricky, isn't it?" Noel sighed. "Do you want to hear what I think?"

I nodded.

"I think it could end up really poorly for you and George if you were to try and pursue anything. Your feelings for Cedric would blow up in both of your faces and then you probably wouldn't even have George as a friend. And I know you like having him as a mate."

My fingers found the locket. The dove had become more familiar to me over the last month, but on occasion my thumb still tried to find the ridges of the book. "I've never felt as good as I did when George and I were, erm, snogging. I felt _amazing_. That has to mean something, right?"

I turned my head to find her already looking at me, her gaze thoughtful. "It was also your first kiss. You could have just felt that way because it was a new sensation."

"Yeah but…I felt like I was completely knackered. Not that I've ever been of course but it's what I'd imagine it felt like. And you'd expect me to be terrified, right? But I couldn't stop myself, I just had to keep going." The words burst forth from my mouth, and had this been anyone but Noel I would have run out of the room from embarrassment.

"Is this something you want to risk your friendship for though? Because honestly once you start something you can't go back."

I stared at the ceiling for a long time. I remembered him wiping paint from my eyes when I walked into Peeves' trap, how he found me having a panic attack and calmed me down, never speaking a word about it to anyone, how he kept the secret about my mother, how he visited me every day when I was in the hospital wing. "No."

"You'll need to tell him that." Noel sat up and glanced down at me.

I sat up too. "Do you think he'll be mad?"

She smirked slightly. "I don't think he could ever be mad at you. He'll understand."

Noel excused herself to go shower, but all I could do was sit there and hope she was right.

* * *

><p>"So where have you been during meal times?"<p>

I glanced up from my Transfiguration essay about the properties of human to animal transformation. "I've just had a lot of work lately, so I've been eating in the kitchens."

Gemma gave me a wry look. "Before you met the Weasley twins, you never ate there. You realize we're not supposed to, and that if you get caught Umbridge will probably take your badge, right?"

"Why does everything I do come back to the twins?" I grumbled under my breath. It had been almost two weeks since George and I had kissed. When I'd tried to talk to him, he blew me off by claiming he had a "business meeting." And after that, he started avoiding me like the plague.

"Because this entire year you've all been attached at the hip." Gemma's voice was blunt, and she settled back in her seat to fix her stare on me. Her hazel eyes were painstakingly outlined in black kohl. Even Noel couldn't do hers that neatly.

I hadn't spoken to Fred or Lee at all since George had started blowing me off. "Well, we're not anymore, okay?"

She blinked. "Erm, yeah, sure. Everything all right?"

"Yeah, they're just more immature than I thought." I pressed my quill down into the parchment so hard I left a groove in the table.

The two of us sat in silence for a long while. Gemma was writing furiously on her own essay, her dark hair swinging eagerly over her shoulders. My hand rested on my tiny three inches of writing, the ink blurring beneath my fist. With a sigh I stood, crammed the essay into my bag, and left with a small wave. I just couldn't concentrate right now.

I stood outside the library for several moments trying to figure out where I was going to go. Undoubtedly Noel and Lee were occupying the dormitory, as the pair had come in hot and heavy as I was attempting to leave, and Grace was trying in vain to hold court in the common room. If I went near her there was a good chance I'd end up back in Umbridge's office. She'd been having a field day with my sudden absence from George's side.

"Well look who it is."

Jumping, I whirled around. "Montague." I tried to keep my voice even whilst casually getting a good grip on my wand.

"What's an ickle Puffer like you doing standing in the corridor all by your lonesome?" His red lips curled into a smirk and Adrian Pucey and Graham Warrington chortled behind him, as though he'd said something humorous.

"I don't believe that's any of your business," I sniffed, pushing off of the wall in an attempt to move around them. Montague grabbed my forearm in a vice-like grip. "Let go of me!"

His head cocked to the side. "You know, you should really be careful. A girl like you might find herself in an…unfortunate situation."

I swallowed and wrenched my arm from his grasp. There would definitely be bruises. "Are you threatening a prefect, Montague?"

"No." He stepped closer until his feet brushed mine and I was cast completely into his shadow. "I'm threatening a half-breed."

Just as I was about to pull my wand on him, there were footsteps coming around the corner. "Oi, what's going on down there?"

It was George. Montague gave me one last dirty glance, stepping heavily on my toes before he swept off down the corridor. His tread was heavy and I held my breath until the three were out of sight.

"I swear he's going to get what's coming to him one day," George said through gritted teeth as he approached me. "Are you all right?"

Fuming, I whirled around. "I handled it myself. I didn't need you barging in like the damn hero!"

He tossed me a small smile. "I know. Sorry love, it's the Gryffindor in me."

"Why don't you just leave me alone? You were doing a good job of that already." My voice cracked slightly on the last word and my coldness lost its significance.

George's gaze softened and he gently hooked his hand around my elbow. "Come on, let's go somewhere and talk."

My jaw dropped and I yanked myself away from him. "No! I've had enough of being handled by a bunch of self-absorbed pricks."

"Do _not _lump me in with that Death Eater," George said in a low tone, his brown eyes darker than I'd ever seen them.

"Well I wouldn't have such a high opinion of yourself." I met his gaze but refused to back down.

He rubbed his eyes. "You have every right to be upset, but could you please just try to…act civil, so we can talk?"

A million retorts sprung to the tip of my tongue but when he raised his eyes to meet mine I managed to swallow them. As we stood across the corridor from one another, just observing each other, I gave a terse nod. The silence was thick and I waited impatiently for him to speak. Finally I raised a brow and he sighed.

"You looked really beautiful today."

My arms dropped to my sides. "What?"

"You've looked so beautiful every day. Especially today. Your eyes looked really green." He shuffled his feet. "You don't know how hard it's been not to talk to you."

"Yeah? Please explain that, because I tried to speak with you about what happened at least two dozen times and you ignored me." I was unforgiving, and I didn't much care.

George scratched at the back of his neck. "I was drunk. I shouldn't have done it."

"So you're telling me that you regret it?" I asked quietly.

He shook his head emphatically. "No! Well, yes. Okay, just hear me out. I basically took advantage of you, and it was a really horrible thing for me to do."

I stared at him. "George, _I _wasn't the one who was knackered. How were _you _taking advantage of _me_?"

"Because I wasn't myself! I wouldn't have done it like that if I was sober."

"George, I don't-"

He stepped closer and tucked his hands into his pockets. "I'd been planning on doing something really nice. I had a lot of ideas. But I got pissed and ruined everything."

"You were _planning _it? So what, you've been plotting how to get me to kiss you? How to get me alone? How long has this been going on? Have you just been pretending to be my friend because you thought you could shag me?" My voice rose with every word and fury washed over me like a tidal wave.

His eyes widened. "No! No of course not, that's not what I'm saying."

"Well what are you saying?" I was now being extremely defensive, and I backed away from him.

George closed the gap between us and stretched out a hand, brushing my hair behind my shoulder. He cupped my cheek and forced me to look at him. "I'm sorry Prudence."

His lips lowered to mine and I was so tempted, but I turned away at the last moment. George drew in a breath and pulled back.

Nervously my fingers jumped to the locket but upon remembering the ridges of the book charm were no longer there, my hand fell back to my side.

"This is about Cedric, isn't it?" He laughed to himself as his eyes followed my movements. I didn't say anything. "Unbelievable. I bet this whole time when you wanted to talk, you just wanted to tell me that the only way you'd ever date me is if I transfigured myself into a Hufflepuff prefect with golden waves and a cocky smile."

A searing heat burned through my chest. "Actually, what I wanted to tell you is that I wanted to remain friends, because having you as a friend was more important to me than anything else. Because I thought you were a really good person to have in my life."

"But the reason you want to stay friends is because you still have feelings for Cedric." His tone was triumphant, but his eyes held sadness.

I observed him for a moment, wondering if we were really going to do this in the middle of the corridor. I sighed. "In order for you to understand how I feel – _felt_ – about Cedric, you need to know what I did this summer."

George blinked, as though confused. "I don't remember what I did after he came out of that maze. I don't remember the end of term. I don't remember packing, or getting on the train, or even how I got home. Every morning, I would wake up with bags under my eyes, my head filled with nightmares about what had happened. I would go to work, then I would go to my second job, and all day long I would dread going to sleep because I was terrified to be alone. I cried myself to sleep for two months straight. I didn't know why he had died. I didn't know what the truth was, or maybe I just didn't want to.

"I couldn't understand it then, and I still can't now, because he was so kind, and good, and smart, and brave. He was my friend when you didn't even know my name. He was the only person to ever have celebrated my birthday with me, and the only one who knew all of my dreams and fears. Within the span of two hours I didn't have that anymore, I didn't have him anymore, and I'd spent all of my years at Hogwarts investing myself in him, in that one person, so that when I was on my own again I didn't know who I was. Surely I couldn't play the part of grieving girlfriend, because I wasn't one. I couldn't let my upset show because I thought our relationship was insignificant to the rest of the school. What right did I have to mourn over someone so widely admired?"

He wasn't looking at me. I had no idea what he was thinking, but words kept spilling out of my mouth like vomit.

"When you bumped into me that night and started…worming your way into my life, I started to do the same thing. I started to invest myself in you, to give pieces of myself to you so that I wouldn't be alone. And it scared me. I'm terrified George. I can't handle another repeat of what happened with Cedric. I just, I don't know, I can't. So I hope you understand why I think we should just be friends, and that is what I was going to tell you."

There was another heavy silence, and then, "I don't believe you."

Stunned, I glanced up. "What?"

"Sure you're scared, but you can't use Diggory as your scapegoat. I think you want more than to be my friend. I think you've wanted it for a long time. But you won't let yourself because that would be an insult to Pretty Boy's memory," George said hotly.

I flushed. "Cedric was a great person."

"He wanted to have his cake and eat it too," George responded squarely.

"That's ridiculous." I reached my pinky up to wipe away a few stray tears that had pooled in the corner of my eyes.

"Is it? Think about it. He knew you fancied him, for years, and every time it looked like you started to drift off somewhere else, he would reel you back in with a touch of the shoulder or a promise of studying together, just the two of you. Open your eyes Prudence, he wasn't the perfect person you thought he was. He chose Cho over you, because he didn't think you were good enough for him. But I'm here, I'm right in bloody front of you. I fancy you, okay? It's taken me six months to say it but I fancy you. What do I have to do?"

There was a whistle through the air and a resounding 'crack.' I curled my stinging palm into a fist as I brought it back down to my side. "Go to hell."

Slowly, George nodded, nursing his left cheek. Without another word he turned on his heel and walked away, back in the direction he'd come from. I pressed a shaking hand to my mouth as my breath started coming out quick and harsh, feeling a panic attack coming on.

Noel was wrong. I didn't need to pursue anything in order for my feelings to blow up in my face.

* * *

><p>"I can't do it! It's too much! Are they crazy?!" I stormed into the dormitory and stood in the center, gulping down air faster than I could expel it.<p>

Noel gently shut the door. "Prudence, they're just trying to prepare us for our exams."

"SIX HOURS OF HOMEWORK A NIGHT ISN'T PREPARATION IT'S MURDER!" I shocked even myself with the height of my voice.

She slid my satchel off of my shoulder and tossed it aside, pushing me down onto my bed.

"I mean, two hours _at least _for this Astronomy essay, an hour for the transfiguration questions, I've got to memorize all 37 steps to brewing an Anti-Paralysis potion, AND I've got double rounds tomorrow because Susan is sick! I just can't do it! I c-can't do it!" My hands trembled and tears began to pour down my cheeks.

I'd been having panic attacks almost daily now. I didn't much like to admit it but having the twins and Lee around had been a large stress releaser. They kept things light-hearted and prevented me from thinking too much. They were easy to talk to and genuinely seemed to like being in my company. Those things made me feel happy.

Now, I was alone for the majority of the day. Though I had most of my classes with Noel, she still insisted on sitting beside Lee. I had the "choice" of sitting on her other side, but I didn't want to even be in the same row as George. It hurt too much. I was now partnering with Gemma in potions but beside that I only had Charms with her, and she always sat with her roommates. Sometimes she did work with me in the library but more often than not she was patrolling, covering for her idiotic housemates who claimed they couldn't do their own rounds for one reason or another. I was lonely again, and it only left me even more time to explore my thoughts, which had become increasingly dark.

Noel's hand was a vice in mine, and she didn't speak. I was glad for that. Sometimes when I was having an attack, it was too hard to concentrate on what another person was saying, which only led to more panic. After another few minutes I took a shuddering breath and squeezed my eyes shut. "Okay. I think it's over."

"You know I can brew you a calming draught, right?"

I offered her a small smile. "Thanks, but you dropped potions two years ago before we even learned how to do that. And I don't want to get addicted. Remember all those awful stories Snape told us in fourth year?"

Noel scoffed and rolled her eyes. "He just likes to scare us. It probably gives him sweet dreams at night."

I opened my mouth to respond when there was a knock on the window.

"It's probably Lee," Noel said, getting up and moving toward the window. "I told him we weren't shagging tonight though. You know McGonagall's going to be giving us a surprise exam based off of the homework tomorrow and I haven't even started."

She tossed back her hair and peeled the yellow curtain aside. "Wait, Fred's with him."

"What?" I rose in confusion as she slid open the window and a mixture of dark and shocking red hair tumbled in with the wind.

Noel stared at them as they dusted themselves off. "You know you could've just come in through the common room, right? You know how to get in."

"This way was more fun," Lee responded with a grin, greeting her with a deep kiss. Though the two had never openly said they were dating, I'd noticed Noel had stopped paying any other boys attention, and was allowing Lee to snog her in public.

"Are you going to tell us what the bloody hell you're doing barging into our room late at night with no warning whatsoever?" I was still on edge from the panic attack and since neither Fred nor Lee had made any attempts to speak to me since my fight with George, I didn't particularly feel like being corgial.

Fred walked over to me and took my hand. "Prudence love, you know how sorry we are that we haven't seen much of each other." I scoffed at his cheesy expression.

"Yeah!" Lee piped up. "Don't take offense, it's just that George needed us more. He's really quite the drama queen. We knew you were strong enough to be on your own a bit. He, on the other hand, would let himself drown in the shower if someone wasn't there to pull him out."

What did George have to be upset about? He'd told me he regretted kissing me. He'd made up piss-poor excuses as to why he'd ignored me when I'd needed to talk to him the most. He was the one who claimed to know how I was feeling, and tried to put words in my mouth. He'd said nasty things about Cedric.

"You know, I'm getting really tired of everyone making empty apologies," I grumbled, wrenching my hand out of Fred's grasp.

Noel moved to my side. "Yeah, and you still haven't explained your overly-dramatic entrance."

Lee flopped down on Noel's bed, kicking his feet up. He slammed them back down onto the floor at her glare. "Listen, George is in a really bad way."

I rolled my eyes and moved towards the door. "Unbelievable."

"No, Prudence wait!" Fred leapt in front of me. "He's really been taking this hard. He blames himself."

Was I supposed to be grateful or something? "And? He should. I didn't do anything wrong."

"He's been drinking himself into a stupor every night. He passed out in a pool of his own vomit two hours ago. He starts off with a case of firewhiskey as soon as classes are over, if he even waits that long. Haven't you noticed he hasn't been in his last class for the past four days?" Fred actually looked worried.

I shifted uncomfortably. "Well, like you said, he's got the two of you looking after him."

Lee sat up. "We're not asking you to forgive him. Whatever he said to you must have been really horrible for him to be acting like this. But at least talk to him. Give him a chance to apologize even if you don't plan on accepting it. Otherwise he's going to have serious damage to his liver before the year is even through."

I chewed on my lower lip until it was bloody and raw. "I don't know," I said finally. "I don't care. He can do whatever he pleases. I've got a long day tomorrow and if he comes looking for me, fine. If he doesn't, even better. Now could you please leave? We've got a lot of homework to do still."

Fred planted a sloppy kiss on my left cheek and pinched my right. "Thank you love, we really appreciate it. To be honest, we're sick of cleaning up his sick! It's like he's been downing entire boxes of Puking Pastilles."

Noel and I both made sounds of disgust as Fred nodded sagely.

After another moment, Lee gave Noel's arse a final pinch and the two remounted his broomstick (with a lot of struggle).

"Are you really going to talk to him?" Noel asked as soon as the window was shut behind them.

I sighed. "I'm not sure. He did do all this all to himself. Although…this situation _has _been really distracting. I just want things back to normal. Maybe I will. We'll see tomorrow."

I yanked my books onto my bed and said a quick goodnight before pulling my hangings shut. I opened my Transfiguration textbook with the intent of getting right to work, but as soon as my eyes read the chapter title, the words began to change round.

_Meet me in the kitchens tomorrow at 11pm. Please._

_-GW_

I glowered at the page and slammed the book shut. I reopened it a tiny bit to see if the note was gone, and breathed a sigh of relief as words of animate and inanimate transfiguration greeted my eyes. I put George out of my mind as I immersed myself in the assignment, but as I went to sleep that night, all I could think about was his message. The way his 'Ms' and 'Es' connected slightly, the way his 'Ks' were always slightly disconnected. I wondered over and over what he was going to say that hadn't already been said. My thumb stroked the smooth silver of the dove and when I realized what I was doing I dropped it like it was on fire.

In an attempt to steady my breathing, I rolled over onto my side and squeezed my eyes so tightly that I saw colors in the darkness. This boy was going to be the death of me.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hi there, I am SO SO SO sorry for the wait. Really. No excuses. On the plus side some progress has been made and I'm officially a junior in college. I also apologize for the shortness of this chapter and if it seemed melodramatic. Promise the next one will be longer and with hopefully less screaming and crying. In fact, coming up, Prudence finds herself in a dangerous position in the dungeons and George has a confession to make.**

**Side note, if you're curious what the characters look like, I'm basing Prudence off of Adelaide Kane, Noel off of Holland Roden, Lee off of Donald Glover, and Gemma off of Kat Graham. The twins, of course, look like James and Oliver Phelps!**


	21. Down the Snakehole

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. I also don't own the Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. Enjoy!**

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><p>I didn't meet George the next night. I didn't meet him the night after that, or the night after that. He kept sending me notes, sometimes on my mug of tea, sometimes on my sock, sometimes just on a piece of parchment that would flutter into my lap. I don't know why I didn't go, but it didn't prevent me from thanking him when he passed me the sugar bowl without me even having to ask for it, or apologizing if I bumped into his shoulder while trying to maneuver around him.<p>

What I did do though, instead of concentrating on George at all, was go back to what had started all of this: Cedric. Not in the way that Noel would frown at me for, but it led to me digging up the poster I had created at the beginning of the school year. It had grown dusty over the past few months. I'd gotten distracted.

The truth of it all was that men seemed to be taking over my life, and I was tired of feeling powerless. I felt constantly on edge around George, guilty for my treatment of him even though I'd only spoken my purest thoughts. My endlessly confusing feelings for Cedric bogged me down with such ferocity that some days I struggled to even get out of bed, as I would rather try and go back to my nightmares for a glimpse of his face than go to class.

Montague was everywhere. When I went to the potions supply closet to get gillyweed, he followed me in and slid the tip of his wand across the back of my neck. At meal times, he would sit as close to me from the Slytherin table as possible, positioning himself directly in my line of vision until I reluctantly switched spots. I came out of the loo the other day and there he was, leaning up against the tapestry of Urg the Unclean.

And then, there was You-Know-Who.

I was trying to start calling him Lord Vol-I was trying to say his actual name, if only in my head, but I couldn't. It was as though someone was using that tongue-sticking spell that Noel and I had used on Pansy Parkinson at the Gryffindor-Slytherin match. But I'd chosen to believe Dumbledore, who in turn trusted me enough to tell me about the Order. I wanted to be a part of the Order so badly, and follow in my mother's footsteps. I would have to be able to say his name eventually. Then again, I knew exactly how dangerous You-Know-Who and his followers were. Not everyone was so unfortunate.

I'd been thinking a lot of my conversation with Dumbledore lately. How he'd confirmed that my mother had fought against Vo- You-Know-Who, how he had personally invited her to join the Order, how she'd gone undercover to get information. If she could brave that, then so could I.

Noel was at Gryffindor Tower, undoubtedly scooting away from a groping Lee as she tried to finish her Herbology essay for tomorrow's class. Grace was seated at her desk glaring at her Charms book, so there was no one to notice as I tucked my wand up the sleeve of my robe and left the room.

What I was planning on doing was extremely daring, though not nearly on the scale of danger that my mother had gone through fourteen years ago. Still, my heart was racing so fast that I thought I was going to go into cardiac arrest any moment. But doing something, taking some semblance of control, felt so good that I couldn't stop. I exited the common room and found a small alcove where I whipped my wand overhead like a lasso. I began to disappear from view, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, this wasn't a very powerful disillusionment charm, but in the dankness of the dungeons I would blend right in. Walking slowly so as not to draw attention to myself, I headed across the Entrance Hall and down the corridor that split off into the labyrinth that was home to the Slytherins. There weren't too many students wandering about as it was very near curfew, and my invisibility was pathetically comforting as it was how I'd spent the better part of my life.

As a group of green-robed girls wandered towards me, I casually skimmed the wall and waited until they passed me to follow them. I couldn't discern what they were discussing, but judging by the vapid tones it didn't seem to be too important.

We came to a blank stretch of wall and I was momentarily confused until one of them stated a password ("Purity") and a passageway was revealed. Cringing at the cavalier way they were carrying on the tradition of hatred, I held my breath and traipsed after them.

I was shivering now, though I wasn't sure if it was from anticipation, fear, or the chill of the dungeons. We were heading deep underground; perhaps by now we were actually under the lake. I triple checked myself to make sure that entering the corridor had not removed my charm, and marveled at myself. I must have been one of the only students outside of their house to find out where their common room was, let alone to enter it.

I hadn't planned on actually going in; I'd been planning on finding the entrance and camping out there until Montague or someone from his group of friends walked by. I'd been hoping to catch them all together, so I could just get a glimpse of something under their left robe sleeve, or to hear them mention Volde- You-Know-Who's name in the present tense, but now that I was here I had to keep going.

The girls peeled off to the left and suddenly there was an echoing din as a vast, circular room appeared before us. The walls were low and made of stone, and though this should have created a heavy chill, a roaring fire beneath the most elaborate marble mantelpiece I had ever seen kept the room comfortable. Lamps lit with fire that burned green, or at least just appeared to, hung from the ceiling on chains that swayed slightly as the girls moved to settle in the corner.

I stayed pressed against the wall as I tried to get my bearings. If I were to be caught now, I would be in trouble with more than just the school. However, after five minutes of not being spotted, my heart rate slowed and I watched a fifth year boy I vaguely recognized as Blaise Zabini stand, stretch, and disappear through a small door on the right side of the room that I'd yet to notice. Those must lead to the boys' dormitories. If all the seventh years were already in there, I couldn't even hope to gain entry inconspicuously, as their door would be shut.

Just as I was about give up and call it a night, I remembered that Adrian Pucey had rounds with Gemma! That meant that they would be back within the hour, and I could follow him in!

I fought to stay perfectly still from my position behind a silver statue of who was undoubtedly Salazar Slytherin. There weren't very many people around. I watched two first years battle over an expensive looking Wizard's Chess board, but nearly revealed myself when Pucey sauntered in and barked at small, mousy looking girl to get out of his seat. My heart sunk as he settled down and pulled out several textbooks. He still had homework to do? I'd be here all night.

After fifteen minutes my legs began to grow weary, and I was seriously contemplating scooting out of the room and making a break for the comforts of my own bed when Pucey shook his head and tossed everything back in his satchel. He nodded at a dark haired boy I didn't recognize but whose eyes gleamed in a way that formed goosebumps along my skin and stood.

I slithered out from behind the statue (no pun intended) and inched towards him until I was away from the fire, which would surely make my outline more visible. Once we were cloaked in the darkness, I trailed him more easily, and gave an internal sigh of relief as the door shut behind us. Here, however, it was completely black, and though Pucey knew where to go, I did not. It was imperative that I didn't trip.

I paused, listened for his footsteps, and matched my pace to his to cover the sound of my own. It sounded like he was veering slightly right. There was a light twenty feet down the corridor shining from beneath a doorway, and vaguely I began to see his outline. I widened my stride to get as close to him as possible before he stopped moving, took an enormous breath, and managed to slip into the dormitory behind him.

Thankfully, the Slytherin lamps cast very dim lighting; if I were in a Hufflepuff's room I would surely be spotted. The first thing I set eyes on were two wardrobes along the wall to my left. When Pucey headed towards an empty bed in the corner, I began to sidestep, keeping my body to the front. Very carefully, I nestled myself between the wardrobes and sunk into a crouch.

Warrington belched as he got up from behind his desk and stripped to his underwear. I grimaced and averted my gaze, only to see Lucian Bole wander out of the lavatory in nothing but a pair of silk green pants and scratch under his right arm pit. Pucey was changing into something a bit more modest, but the prize was Montague, who seemed to be holding court from the bed in the center without even saying a word.

He was reclining against a mass of satiny emerald pillows with his arms behind his head. Sure enough, right out in the open, a heinous and horrifying tattoo covered the entirety of his left forearm. It was jet black. I'd been reading up on it, and the mark was only blackened when it was active. I clamped a hand over my mouth to keep in my gasp. None of them had said a word and I'd gotten my answer. But I wouldn't be able to leave until they had all gone to sleep, and so I settled more comfortably on my haunches and eagerly awaited the flow of conversation.

"Did any of you get a look at Greengrass today?" Bole piped up from where he was digging through his trunk.

Montague smirked appreciatively. "Her arse looked absolutely phenomenal. I would love to dig into that."

Warrington chortled, but Pucey rolled his eyes. "Like Astoria Greengrass would even give any of you sods a second glance."

"And she would look at you, Pucey?" Montague found this idea very hilarious.

He arrogantly turned to face them, adjusting the collar of his silk button down shirt. "She's done more than just look."

The other three immediately began to catcall and hound him for details, which he seemed more than willing to divulge. "Her tits were amazing. Bigger than they look, too. Really firm. Tasted even better," he said with a wink, and Montague nodded approvingly. "Pretty wild shag, too. Insisted on being on top. Called me Daddy."

The boys all crowed and pounded their beds, and I allowed this sudden racket to let out a very small sigh of disgust. I felt ashamed on her behalf. Had George done this? Gone back to Fred and Lee and told them how crap of a kisser I'd been? Said how he'd had his hands all over my hips and thighs? Had they discussed the size of my arse? Surely not. But still…this was so demeaning.

"I can't wait to get out of this place," Bole spoke up. "The girls here are so immature. We need real women, ones who won't cry when you get them halfway to the sack."

I clenched my fists in anger but managed to stay quiet.

"Mate, just wait until we're done in a few months. We'll be serving the Dark Lord, and once he sees how loyal we are, we'll get into his inner circle, like our fathers. We'll have so many women admiring our bravery that they'll be _throwing_ themselves at us," Montague pointed out. The other three nodded in acceptance, and after a few more cast-off remarks, they all slid into their beds and extinguished the lamps.

What a skewed sense of bravery they all had. Terrorizing innocent people in the name of protecting their bloodlines. Hurting and killing those who would probably never even come within a thousand feet of a pureblood, let alone someone who actually stood a chance at 'infecting' their heritage.

I had to get out of there, and soon. My charm would begin to wear off any moment and I needed to be out of the dungeons by the time it did. I waited another painstaking five minutes, where I could practically hear a clock ticking, and began to crawl my way back towards where I remembered the door to be. Their breathing was still steady as I stretched my right hand up towards the doorknob, and as slowly as I could I slid the door open.

I squeezed through the small crack I had created for myself and shut the door behind me, wincing at the faint sound of the lock clicking into place. Wasting no time, I walked as quickly back down the corridor as I could, skirting along the outside of the common room. Just as I was about to exit, my robe caught on a table, and several books shifted to the right, the top one falling to the floor.

I froze.

Though only several people remained, their heads all turned in my direction. The boy who Pucey had nodded to got to his feet, his eyes narrowed. Not even caring about subtlety anymore, I turned tail and sprinted for the hallway.

"Hey, someone's invisible!" a girl shrieked.

"Let's find out who it is," the boy said threateningly, and I began to run even faster. This corridor had seemed like it was much shorter on the way in, and with the pounding of footsteps behind me I started to fear for my safety.

A jet of orange light soared just over my head and a chunks of stone hit the floor loudly, breaking apart and bouncing against my legs. I let out a reluctant shriek of terror.

"It's a girl!" the boy yelled, and I risked a quick glance backwards. He was very close behind me now, and I began to run in a zig-zagging pattern to lessen my chances of getting hit by one of his hexes.

My lungs were burning and I couldn't remember the last time I'd done so much running, but I forced myself to move faster. I skittered around a corner and could see the light coming from the Entrance Hall. I gasped as a blue streak grazed the side of my face. My temple felt hot and sticky.

I burst out of the dungeons and stumbled slightly.

"Who's there?" a voice demanded, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I turned to see Gemma.

The boy followed quickly behind me and I stepped lightly across the hall, putting distance between us. His black eyes glittered as they darted around the room.

"Lazenby, what are you doing? Curfew was nearly an hour ago." Her voice was stern. That was one thing I liked about her. She wasn't afraid to stand up to her housemates.

The boy, Lazenby, sneered. "Someone was spying on us. They were invisible, in our common room. Probably some pathetic little Gryffindor blood-traitor."

Because a Muggle-born or half-blood wouldn't even be capable of doing this? I started to seethe, but still moved slowly backwards until I was safely in the next corridor. My hand shot up to catch a drop of blood that slipped down my face.

"Well whoever they are, they're gone now," Gemma spoke, her right brow raised. "I'd appreciate it if you would go back to the common room now, or else I'll have to dock points."

My heart skipped a beat at the glare Lazenby gave her. He just looked…malicious. Like he might enjoy truly hurting someone. I let out a small sigh of relief as he turned back towards the dungeons, his footsteps quiet. I got chills down my spine thinking about how easily he could sneak up on me.

I was about to undo the charm and reveal myself to Gemma when another person wandered into the hall.

"Everything all right?" I didn't recognize the voice and scooted closer to the corner so I could peer around it.

Gemma relaxed. "Now that you're here, yes."

My jaw dropped to the floor as a sixth year Gryffindor named Andrew Kirke took her in his arms and planted a kiss on her lips. Gemma was seeing a Gryffindor? How could she be doing this in the open? If the rest of her housemates found out, she would probably be attacked in her sleep.

"How was Pucey?" Andrew asked, tucking her hair gently behind her ear.

She smiled, a happy expression on her face that I'd never seen before. "Not too bad. We mostly ignored each other, although whenever he felt like things were too quiet he made remarks about my bloodline's similarity to a hippogriff."

Andrew's eyes darkened, but she stroked his blonde hair. "Andy, please don't worry about me. I know how to ignore their pathetic comments. Besides, I'll be done in a few months, and I'll never have to co-exist with any of them ever again."

"Is it selfish of me to hope you fail all your exams so you have to stay another year?" he mumbled. As she made a move to kiss him again, I turned tail and moved swiftly back to my own dormitory. I didn't need to invade on their privacy any more than I already had.

Being invisible was dangerous. I'd seen things I wasn't supposed to be privy to. Learned things that could put me in serious danger. With a shudder I crawled my way through the tunnel to the common room. It was thankfully empty, and I sat down for a few minutes in front of the fire to wait for the effects of my charm to wear off.

I felt the adrenaline of the past hour melting off my back as I entered my darkened dormitory, knowing this time that there was no threat. I tiptoed over to my trunk, dug out the pajamas that I'd set on top and moved nimbly over the various piles of clothing that Noel had left lying about until I made it to the loo.

The blood had clotted at my temple, and it was a deep red. I thanked the stars that I wasn't afraid of blood and cast a numbing spell before I conjured a wash cloth and began to dab at it. The water in the sink turned crimson as I washed away more and more of the wound, until I saw a nice, jagged scar. My hands shook as I applied a Soothing Salve to it, hoping for it to heal by morning.

I, Prudence Turner, the girl who was scared of her own shadow, had come up with a plan all on her own and executed it, getting top secret information at the risk of – well, maybe not my life, but at least at the risk of pain and serious trouble with the school. Umbridge would have had a field day with me if I'd been caught.

In spite of nearly getting discovered and getting shot in the head with an unknown spell, I smiled at my reflection in the mirror. I was sick of being terrified all the time. Hopefully now I could keep up with the change.

* * *

><p>"Are you MAD?"<p>

I winched at Noel's shriek and was thankful that Grace wasn't in the room, lest we receive the wrath of someone who hasn't gotten their proper beauty sleep.

"But I got the information! I can tell Dumbledore! I'm sure he's got a list of people he suspects of being Death Eaters, and he's got one right under his own roof!" Why wasn't she understanding?

Noel's mouth was set in a thin line as she moved beside me to examine my scar. "It's not all the way healed. We'll have to cover it up. If they see that scar, they'll know it was you."

I shuddered. "That Lazenby kid is bloody scary. He looked like he might murder me with his bare hands and enjoy it."

"He transferred here from Durmstrang two years ago. There are rumors that he was expelled for brainwashing another student and forcing them to try and kill one of the professors," Noel said matter-of-factly.

"_Merlin!_" I gasped. "Do you think that's true?"

She shrugged. "The professors here all give him a wide berth…"

Goosebumps erupted on my skin as Noel's wand touched my temple.

"There, that should do it. My best concealment charm."

"Thanks," I said, giving her a small smile. She glared back at me.

With a shake of her head, she got to her feet and continued getting ready for breakfast.

My story telling had made us late, and as we entered the Great Hall, we saw Fred and George standing up, headed off to their first class of the day. Lazenby was sitting right at the end of the Slytherin table, and sure enough, he looked like he was monitoring every person that came through the doors.

My heart jumped slightly as I saw George lumber towards us. He didn't look particularly happy, but not as bad as Fred and Lee had made him out to be. I made a quick decision.

As he moved to walk straight past me, I stretched out a hand and wrapped it around his forearm. He glanced down at me in surprise, and I saw Fred and Noel exchange a look.

"Meet me in the kitchens tonight? Eleven o'clock?" I held my breath but didn't release my grip. His skin was warm beneath mine.

Slowly, he nodded, and I awarded him a faint squeeze before I let go and took my seat across from Lee and Ginny.

"Did you guys hear? Someone was in the Slytherin common room last night! They were spying!" Lee greeted us. Ginny looked at us eagerly over her bowl of porridge.

"We know," Noel drawled. "'Someone' is sitting to the right of me."

Their eyes just about bulged out of their heads, but Noel quickly hushed them. "Shut up about it! See that kid down there? That's Maxwell Lazenby, and he almost caught her. He hit her with some spell, left a scar on her head. We had to hide it so he wouldn't know it was her."

"Phwoar." Lee's eyes were still as big as galleons. "Prudence, did someone drug you? I mean, that is just not like you at all, no offense."

I wanted to be offended, but I couldn't. He was right. "I'm sick of Montague bloody tormenting me all the time. I've got some dirt on him that I'm going to tell Dumbledore about. I owled him this morning first thing."

"You'll tell us all about it, right? How you got in and everything, tomorrow at the D-erm, at the meeting?" Ginny caught herself before she could reveal the name of our "club." There were way too many students in this hall eager to report to Umbridge.

I laughed slightly. "No way, I don't want to be giving anybody any ideas, least of all you or the twins. I had a really close call last night, and that was when they were off-guard. They'll definitely be on the lookout now."

Ginny huffed. "Just like a Hufflepuff to be sensible and think of others."

The rest of breakfast passed slowly. Noel and Lee were having some sort of sexual conversation with their bodies; she kept licking things off of her spoon and adjusting her cleavage. I made some passing comments to Ginny about Michael Corner, but for the most part it was quiet. Finally, after Noel's dish of yogurt was empty and Lee had enough time to calm himself down, the three of us set off for class.

"So, what do you need to meet with George for?" Noel asked as soon as we were relatively alone in the hallway.

I flushed slightly. "I don't know, I just think we have stuff to talk about. Where neither of us gets upset and says things we don't mean."

Lee clapped me on the shoulder. "Well I appreciate you taking one for the team, seriously. You have no idea how irritating it's been babysitting him."

"Because it's all about you Lee, seriously." Noel rolled her eyes and split off from us to head to Arithmancy.

"I'm just saying! Real pain!" he called after her.

I laughed, but in truth I was uncomfortable. I hadn't been alone with Lee since my fight with George, and we'd barely spoken in a week.

"So, partners today?" Lee turned to me nonchalantly.

Chewing on my lip, I turned the corner to enter Snape's classroom. For once, Montague was nowhere in sight. "You know, I think Gemma wanted to pair up with Danielle Fairchild today anyway."

He grinned at me and I smiled back. All I had to do to get things headed back in the direction of normalcy was take matters into my own hands.

* * *

><p>Due to my impending anxiety and the fact that Grace was having a very loud shag with a fifth year named Justin, I was waiting in the kitchen much earlier than anticipated, tapping my fingers against the small wooden table and staring at the goblet of pumpkin juice that had been placed in front of me. It was mostly empty, as the elves were now cleaning the common rooms and classrooms, but a few were still scattered around here and there, levitating dishes back into their place and preparing things for tomorrow's breakfast.<p>

I stared down at the Golden Compass, my eyes blurring the words together, unable to read them. When I'd said that I wanted to talk with George, I hadn't had anything in mind. I just knew that I wanted to see him, and get things back to normal. But now that our scheduled meeting was in five minutes, about fifty different scenarios were running through my head, all of them ending badly.

At exactly eleven o'clock, the portrait swung open and George ducked through. I swallowed. The top button of his school shirt was undone, his tie was loose, and it looked like he'd run his hands through his hair several times. I smiled internally at the inch of ankle showing at the hem of his pants; too tall for his own good.

"Hi."

I cleared my throat. "Hi."

My voice sounded smaller than I would've liked.

"Prudence, what the hell were you thinking?" George burst out suddenly.

I looked down at the table. "I'm assuming you're talking about where I went last night."

"Well I'm sure as hell not talking about your fashion choice," he quipped.

Furiously I clenched my fists. "I'm sick of Montague taunting me! And now I don't have to be!"

George let out a shaky breath. "Oh yes, you do. That was _really_ dangerous."

"I know. He's a Death Eater," I responded evenly.

He placed his face in his hands for a moment, and a thought popped into my head. "That's a bad sign, isn't it. That someone so young was recruited."

He slowly lifted his head up. "I don't know."

After a long silence he sat down, and I figured it was safe to talk. "How've you been?"

"You brought me here to ask me how I've been?" he asked wryly.

I chewed my lip. "No, I suppose not. Although I hear you've been drinking."

"You've been checking up on me, Turner?" Thankfully, his tone was amused. He was acting like the George I knew.

I rolled my eyes as I sighed. "More like Fred and Lee came bursting through our window after curfew one night telling us that you were passed out in your own vomit."

"Well you don't exactly want to remember the time you were a ginormous knob to someone you really care about. Pretty cringe-worthy stuff."

"George…it's fine. I mean, you didn't phrase it very nicely but you made some good points."

He leaned forward. "Yeah, but that doesn't excuse me saying things just to make you feel bad. You're the nicest person I know."

My cheeks burned red. "I don't think I'm that nice."

"You're way better than me at least."

"Are we just going to skirt around the issue by you paying me compliments?" I took a sip from my goblet.

George raised a brow. "How about we discuss your late-night tryst into Montague's dormitory then?"

I sat back. "Is that really whatt you want to talk about?"

"Yes! Prudence, something really bad could've happened. Those guys may seem like dunces but they know some seriously dark magic."

I eyed him coldly. "I think I know that more than anyone else."

He was silent.

"And what's more George, what I did last night made me feel the safest I've felt in weeks. I've been walking around terrified ever since I was in the Hospital Wing, and being away from you, Fred, and Lee certainly didn't help." My temper was quickly rising.

His mouth set in a firm line, much like Noel's had done when I'd told her about it. "But at the same time, think about all the people that would've had to sit by your bedside again, not sure when you're going to wake up."

And just like that my anger faded.

"I mean, Noel cried every day. And that was the unhappiest I've ever seen Luna; she's usually impervious to sadness. Fred and Lee were so furious that they couldn't even make any jokes. And me? I was scared shitless. What if Madame Pomfrey was wrong? What if you weren't going to wake up? What if that was the last time I'd ever talk to you again?" He let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Well then I suppose you know what it felt like for me when Harry brought Cedric out of that maze," I said quietly.

Another silence.

"George, I had to do it. You understand that, don't you?"

He stared at me for a while. Finally, he nodded. "Aside from hating you for putting yourself in that situation, I'm actually really proud of you. So long as you don't do anything like that ever again."

I laughed slightly. "I make no promises."

We smiled at each other and my shoulders relaxed for the first time in days. "I forgive you, you know. Because you were right."

He opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. "It's just hard for me to see the bad in people, especially if they're my friend. Cedric liked attention, I knew that. It's probably why he was chosen for the tournament in the first place. It's just painful not to think of him in a good light because he's not here to defend himself, and I feel like I have to do it for him."

"Were you…" George coughed. "Were you thinking about him when we were, erm, snogging?"

"No. I was completely focused on you. It was…really nice. George, I do have feelings for you, and they're very strong," I said, desperation creeping into my voice.

He observed me for a moment. "Stronger than the feelings you have for Cedric?"

"Here's what you need to understand: what I feel for Cedric is nothing at all what I feel for you. I loved a person I apparently didn't really know that well. I loved a person who strung me along like an old pair of shoes. I loved a person who always had his eye on someone else. I came to terms with that a while ago…but I've been trying to force myself to feel nothing for him at all, and that's just not possible.

"I'll always have some semblance of a feeling for him. It's not like he was terrible to me. He always remembered my birthday and he invited me to sit with him and he liked spending time with me. But with you…" I cut myself off and flushed.

George was smirking. "Do go on."

I swallowed. "You're really going to make me say it?"

He nodded. "Fine. I hated you at first. I thought you were just using me for amusement. I thought you were nothing more than a pathetic jokester. But you're very smart, and very educated, and you have a really good head on your shoulders. You're incredibly loyal, I've seen it with Harry, you'd stand by him till the very end."

"I'd die for him if I had to," George said fiercely.

"I know you would. And you really care about your family. No matter how much you piss on them, especially Ron. When you prank people or crack jokes, you genuinely just want to make people laugh. I can't tell you how many times you made me smile when I didn't even think I was capable. You're so…passionate, about everything you do. You don't do anything with half-arsed intentions. You do what pleases you and you pull out all the stops.

"I started to really care about you…I tried to keep my feelings at bay, told myself we could only be friends, but it was hard. I mean, you would make my tea for me in the mornings and you would walk me everywhere and you kept all of my secrets and you were always around."

George, who had been staring at the table the entire time I'd been speaking, looked up. "So what exactly are you saying?"

I pursed my lips. Slowly, I stretched my hand across the table and grasped his in my own. I looked up at him shyly and blushed even more.

George stood up and walked around the table without letting go, and pulled me to my feet. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," I responded with a grin.

He took his free hand and stroked my cheek before pushing my hair behind my ear, just like I'd seen Andrew do to Gemma last night. Then his hand found its way beneath my chin, where it tilted my face up to meet his lips.

The kiss was slow, soft, and brief. He pulled away and I reluctantly loosened my grip on his hand.

"I want this if you can accept that Cedric will always be a part of my life," I said.

George nodded.

"You have to promise you won't hold it against me, or get upset with me about it, because what I feel for him in no way matches what I feel for you." I forced myself to look him in the eye.

He tucked his hands in his pocket. "I promise."

"Well then, all right." I glanced over at the clock that hung above the fireplace. "I should probably get back. It's way after curfew."

"May I escort you to your common room?" George asked cheesily, sticking out his right arm.

I rolled my eyes but happily accepted his offer, my entire body buzzing from the event that just took place.

"This is me," I said once we'd reached the stack of barrels.

"Good night, Prudence," George said quietly.

He leaned down to place another soft kiss on my lips and pulled away so slowly that I thought I'd imagined it. "I could get used to this."

I laughed slightly at his words. "Good night, George."

He gave me one last salute, turned on his heel, and walked quickly towards the Entrance Hall. Just before he turned the corner, he looked back and winked.

Giddily, I entered the tunnel and scrambled through to the common room. As it was nearing midnight, only two sixth years remained, one of whom was nodding off in the corner with a piece of parchment stuck to his face.

I opened the door to my dormitory as silently as possible and tiptoed around in the dark as I prepared for sleep. Just as I lay down on my bed, there was a crinkling beneath my cheek on the pillow. Curiously, I grabbed my wand from the small table beside me and cast a quick 'lumos.'

_Miss Turner,_

_It is my request that you shall join me in my office tomorrow evening at nine o'clock._

_Yours most sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_P.S. Jelly slugs are quite nice._

I stared down at the letter for several moments before replacing it on the table, but when my head hit the pillow for the second time, my eyes were wide open. There was a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello all! First of all, I just wanted to thank you for 12,000 views! That's crazy!**

**And once again, I have to apologize for the wait, although this one was a bit shorter! Oddly enough the hardest part for me to write was Prudence's conversation with George. Hopefully it all makes sense to you though! If it didn't, or even if it did, please feel free to drop a review and let me know, I love hearing from you guys!**

**Up next: Prudence speaks with Dumbledore for the second time, she goes public with George, and a very interesting interview given by Harry Potter comes to light. Stay tuned!**


	22. Out With the OldLiterally

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Why are you acting so jumpy this morning?" Noel asked in irritation as I dropped my Potions book on the floor, causing her to smear eyeliner across her cheek.<p>

I chuckled nervously. "Sorry, it's just that Snape's been in a really foul mood lately and we're getting tested on our Cloning Concotions today."

Noel rolled her eyes as she wiped off the excess makeup. "You really shouldn't worry so much about your grades. You're going to get wrinkles."

I ignored her and rushed into the bathroom to quadruple check my appearance. I wanted to look nice today, but I hadn't wanted to let Noel in on anything just in case George didn't want to acknowledge whatever _this _was in public, so instead of blush I'd simply pinched my cheeks and applied a coat of pale pink lipstick that was almost unnoticeable.

I smoothed back a few stray hairs. I'd left most of it down, pinning only a small bit up in a way that I'd seen in pictures of my mother. I made sure my necklace was over the top of my blouse, my thumb finding first the locket, and then the dove.

"Are you ready yet?" came Noel's voice, with just a hint of animosity.

I blinked and turned away from my reflection. "Erm, yes, just let me grab my robes."

Hurrying out of the bathroom, I sidestepped a pile of shoes that had been collecting at the foot of Noel's bed for the past week and opened my wardrobe, pulling out my warmest cloak that was appropriate for indoor wear.

I slipped my satchel over my shoulder, made sure that my hair wasn't tucked beneath anything, and fell into step beside Noel as we exited the room and made our way down the tunnel.

"Did you hear Grace last night?" she asked in a low tone, trying to avoid the ever-present echo.

"Yes, I did," I sighed. "What do you think happened this time?"

Noel shrugged. "Well, she's probably just really unhappy. If you think about it, she's lost all of her friends, which means she's lost all of her power, which is just about the only thing that puts a smile on her face. She hasn't been able to keep anyone interested in months; Anthony Goldstein, a bloody fifth year, broke things off with her after only four days."

Grace had been crying herself to sleep for the past several nights. Knowing her, she'd probably thought she'd cast her silencing charm properly and then wailed on because she believed we couldn't hear her, but her shoddy wand work was proving to be a folly for her.

"Do you think we should…speak to her?" I asked as delicately as possible.

Noel's eyes flashed. "Of course not. She went about ten thousand steps too far. I don't feel bad for her; I was just wondering if perhaps she's been putting on a show for me these past few days because she's trying to reel me back in. She thrives with an audience."

Her tone was biting and I backed off, allowing myself to succumb to my nervous queries. What was going to happen in a minute when we finished crossing the room and entered the Great Hall? I shuddered slightly but played it off as a shiver of coldness at Noel's questioning gaze.

"Can you hurry up? I'm bloody starving, and I have to look over Lee's chart for Astronomy. He still doesn't know the correct coordinates of Canis Major and I bet you anything that he's several degrees off on every constellation."

At her urging, I reluctantly picked up the pace and trailed through the large, mahogany doors. The scent of syrup and bacon and the din of several hundred chattering students overwhelmed my senses, but as soon as I set my sight on George's bright red hair I practically developed tunnel vision.

"Oh, now you pick up the pace!" Noel sniped from behind me. Suddenly I couldn't move fast enough.

As I settled myself beside him as smoothly as possible, he turned, wrapped an arm around my waist, and slid a cup of tea in front of me all on one move.

"Good morning," George said with a wolfish grin.

Fred choked on his eggs and Ginny suppressed a smile behind her goblet.

Blushing, I blew into my teacup. "Morning."

Noel was now standing across the table behind Lee, an accusatory look on her face. "You let me blabber on about bloody _Grace _this morning when you could have been telling me about this – this latest development?"

I gave a noncommittal shrug as she finally plunked down beside her non-boyfriend. "Unbelievable," she muttered underneath her breath.

"So are you guys dating now?" Seamus Finnegan asked in interest, leaning around Ginny.

My tea turned bitter in my mouth as several sets of eyes swiveled towards us.

"More eggs, Seamus?" Alicia Spinnet dumped a large amount onto his plate.

Distracted, he thanked her and shoveled the runny yellow substance into his mouth, as Alicia and Katie dragged him into a conversation about the Kenmare Kestrels. When she thought no one was looking, Alicia shot me a quick wink.

"So, the meeting's tonight, right?" George asked.

Fred nodded, swallowing the large mass of food he was chewing. "8 o'clock mate. Good job we haven't contracted a detention."

"You'd best hope it stays that way," I scolded them, taking a bite of a scone. "We're dueling, and I drew your brother as my opponent."

Their eyes lit up.

"I'd forgotten!" Fred cried gleefully, then his face suddenly grew solemn. "Destroy him."

"Oi!" Ron cried from several seats down. "I can hear you, you know."

Fred and George rolled their eyes in a perfect display of synchronization. "Good!"

I desperately tried to concentrate on the conversation and the fresh, succulent fruit on my plate, but George's arm had not moved and his palm was practically branding itself onto my hip. As Noel dragged Lee's star chart from his bag and Fred engaged in a grape tossing competition with Dean Thomas, we finally got a moment to ourselves.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" he asked, his face reading sincere.

I blushed again. "No."

"Am I embarrassing you?" George waggled his eyebrows, but his arm squeezed my waist, reassuring me of his joke.

The two of us were silent for a moment as I drained my cup of tea.

"You look nice today."

My eyes slid sideways to meet his and I surprised myself by leaning over and pecking his cheek. "Thanks. I suppose you look all right as well."

He pretended to swoon, and I laughed as I stood and waved goodbye. I wasn't waiting for Lee this morning, I just wanted to get down to the dungeons and read up on the Cloning Concoction before class started. I didn't want to waste valuable brewing time by looking up ingredients and instructions.

I rustled around in my bag for my text book, when suddenly the entire thing fell apart. "Fantastic," I muttered as I dropped down on all fours to collect my scattered belongings.

As I reached out for a quill that had rolled several feet away, a shiny, black shoe came down upon it. "Fine morning, isn't it Turner?"

Every hair on the back of my neck stood up. Slowly, I slid backwards onto the balls of my feet and rose. "Perfectly lovely, Montague."

"By any chance, do you know Maxwell Lazenby? He's an old family friend." The smirk upon Montague's face rooted me to the ground.

Swallowing, I rolled back my shoulders, trying to fake some semblance of confidence. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting, no, although I don't typically associate with Slytherins."

"Just mud-bloods, half-breeds, and blood traitors then?" Lazenby's tone was pleasant, but his expression instilled a fear in me I hadn't felt since I'd last seen my father.

"How terribly rude of me – here you know all about me, and before this moment I never even knew your name!" The polite façade between us was fading fast, and I desperately hoped to hear the sound of more footsteps coming down the corridor.

Lucian Bole sneered at me and took a large bite out of the apple he was holding. Adrian Pucey simply looked bored, reclining against the wall with his arms crossed.

Lazenby's eye twitched before he managed to compose himself. "Well, you've managed to catch my attention Turner, which is quite a feat I can assure you. And I have to admit, I have considerable resources that allow me to uncover every little secret hiding within the castle walls, including yours."

I suppressed a shiver and directed my gaze to Montague. "Powerful friends you keep."

"Lazenby here's the least of it. I have contacts on every continent of the world that could supply me with any given person's background at the snap of my fingers," he boasted. His green eyes flickered toward my temple, where Noel's concealment charm was still shielding the scar from view.

Trying to remain in control of the situation, I raised my chin. "And yet you deem to extend your friendship to the likes of your roommates…how remarkably kind of you."

I didn't much like braggarts.

"You'd best watch your mouth, Turner. You never know who might be listening," Montague threatened, obviously relishing the control he held.

"How silly of me," I answered coldly. "I forgot there are some in this castle whose cowardice takes them to _dark places_."

Lazenby and Montague whipped their wands out, both directed between my eyes. My heart skipped a beat and I unconsciously took a step back.

The corridor was still silent. I was on my own. "What are you going to do? You can't prove anything, but I can. I have proof, Montague, pictorial and verbal evidence of your misdoings, and I can have it sent to the Wizengamot within the next five minutes if I so please."

"What evidence?" Lazenby chortled, and Bole gave a half-hearted snigger, but Montague's wand lowered an inch.

I fought the urge to cry, knowing that if I revealed my fear I would relinquish any hope of making it to class unscathed. "Graham here knows, right Graham?"

Lazenby's eyes flashed back and forth between his leader and I, before his right brow raised in interest. "So you've been granted the honor already, Montague? He must really be-"

"Enough!" Pucey hissed. "Say any more and I will personally rip your tongues out. As for the girl, just leave her. She's no threat, she's just trying to save her own skin. She'll get what's coming to her sooner rather than later, why risk getting ourselves in trouble over it?"

Anger licked at my stomach, which bubbled furiously out of both contempt and panic. I remained silent as they weighed the situation. After what felt like an eternity, both lowered their wands and fixed me with stares that let me know just how little my life mattered to them.

"You're right…besides, I've already landed her in the Hospital Wing once. That victory should tide me over until the next time I can get my hands on a filthy half-breed like her." Montague tossed me one last sneer, spat at my feet, and took off for the Potions classroom.

Lazenby offered me a cold smirk and crushed one of my ink bottles under his foot as he walked the opposite way, back towards the Entrance Hall. Bole followed Montague without another word, but Pucey remained for just a moment longer.

He eyed me almost curiously, as though there were something about me he was trying to figure out. Just as I was about to speak, he turned sharply on his heel. "Filthy half-breed."

As soon as he was out of sight, I dropped to my knees and began to gather my belongings as quickly as I could, no longer eager to be in the corridor alone.

Ten minutes later, Lee flopped down beside me and clapped me on the shoulder. "Ready for this potion?"

I jumped several inches off of my stool. "Merlin Lee, could you be any louder?"

Examining my face, white with shock, he frowned. "You all right?"

"Yes, just nervous. You know how much my Potions grades matter to the Healing School." I was getting better at lying and deceit, a fact that didn't do anything to calm my churning stomach.

He shrugged, distracted by the fifty-two different instructions that had just appeared on the board. "We're using Delphinium for this? That's lethal! Where are my dragon-hide gloves? I hope I have them, because I'm not touching that plant without them!"

As Lee fretted over the potion that he'd clearly not prepared himself for, I chanced a glance to the back corner of the room. Pucey and Montague were in a hushed conversation with Bole, Warrington, and one of Gemma's roommates, Abigail Pugh. Pugh was a nasty girl, and there were always rumors swirling about of her nightly escapades that landed unsuspecting muggle-borns in the Hospital Wing. She'd never been officially punished for it, but everyone, staff and student alike, knew.

As Snape turned us loose to begin our potions, I did my best to tune them out. I cut the boomslang skin, I crushed the scarab beetles, I shredded the lacewing flies. But still, as I stirred seventeen times counterclockwise, I was aware of them watching me, searching for any vulnerabilities I might be displaying.

Lee was too busy trying to keep his cauldron from brewing over to notice, but several times Alicia asked me if I needed to go see Madam Pomfrey. My face grew steadily more pale and my hands shaky. I felt the onset of a panic attack and sat down for a moment under the pretense of reviewing the instructions, even though by now I nearly had them memorized.

_Breathe in for four counts, hold for seven, release for eight._

It was a trick I'd read in a book in my father's study. I used to sneak in there when he was at work and read the things lining his shelves, until one day when I was careless and left my bookmark in. He found out what I'd been doing and that was the last I ever set foot in that room.

My left wrist tingled and I rubbed it, wincing. Angelina was eyeing me now. I gave her a wobbly smile and returned to my potion.

By the time class was over, I had, by some divine miracle, received an Outstanding. The only other person to receive that grade was Charles Goldstein, and I grinned happily, until Snape scolded me for boasting and took five points from Hufflepuff.

After I gathered my things and headed off to Ancient Runes, I made the decision not to tell anyone about the confrontation in the dungeons, least of all George or Noel. George was already fit to burst over what Montague had done in December, and Noel had been distraught enough over my sneaking into his dormitory. They didn't need to worry any more than they already were. I could handle myself.

Runes passed quickly, in spite of me constantly having to hush Noel, who was determined to get every last bit of information about George out of me. She was relentless, whispering in my ear, pinching my arm until I gave answers and going so far as to steal my wand and hold it hostage. By the end, I was ready to throttle her, and extremely anxious about seeing George. He was a master deceiver and I wondered if he would be able to sense my secret. He had that talent.

We shoved our way through the crowd, in pursuit of the shortcut that led us to McGonagall's classroom on the fourth floor.

"Oi, if the two of you see Angelina today, run in the other direction." Lee jogged over to us, using his height and brute strength to his advantage as he bowled over a group of third year Ravenclaws.

I frowned. "What happened? She was fine in Potions this morning."

"Yeah, that was until Applebee and his shite-for-brains cronies taunted her about the match this Saturday," he muttered darkly.

Noel snorted. "Because they have so much room to brag, right? Between the three of them they've got an IQ of 50."

Lee gave her a faux-soppy look. "I love it when you defend my people."

"Your people as in Gryffindors, or your race?" Noel asked with a raised brow.

"Both!" Lee declared promptly. "But in all seriousness, Fred and George's replacements are horrible. Kirke's the better of the pair, but still hits about a mile off the mark. Sloper just likes to hit things, and manages to knock someone off their broom out of sheer luck. I reckon the girls are going to be catching bludgers all match."

"How's Ginny doing? I bet she's all right," I said. I didn't know too much about quidditch or her playing abilities, but considering how four of her brothers had played for Gryffindor, one of whom had been captain and recruited by several professional teams, I thought she must be good.

"Oh Ginny's great. She's really our only hope. The chasers will be too busy dodging bludgers to score, and Ron's nerves are going to get to him for sure."

The three of us walked into McGonagall's classroom and took our typical seats in the back row.

"How's my favorite Hufflepuff?" George asked me with a wink. Noel gave him a scandalized look and he replied with an apologetic grin. "Sorry Dalton, all's fair in love and war."

I laughed meekly and buried my head in my textbook. Now that our feelings were out in the open for the entire school to see, I had no clue how to react to him. My cheeks burned at the possibility that others were watching us.

"So, dearest Prudence." Fred leaned towards me, getting uncomfortably close. "Care to elaborate on your plans to eviscerate my darling brother tonight?"

Noel rolled her eyes and sent a mild burning jinx at him, causing him to jump and wave his hand about like a lunatic. "Weasley, stop trying to solicit information from her. We all know you just want to run some sort of betting scam so you can earn a few galleons."

Fred grasped her face between his hands and squeezed, giving her a chipmunk appearance. "You know me all too well."

"Mr. Weasley, please unhand Miss Dalton so we can get started," McGonagall said as she entered the classroom.

"She wasn't even looking in this direction," Lee muttered.

George nodded gravely. "Eyes in the back of her head, that one."

Noel and I exchanged another eye roll and pulled out fresh parchment to take notes.

* * *

><p>"What do you think of this?"<p>

George glanced up at me from his position at the foot of my bed. We were on opposite sides, on opposite corners, but our legs met in the middle, a centimeter of space between them. I'd avoided talking about my day by acting panicked about homework assignments. George, wanting me to stay calm, had allowed me to do my work in almost complete silence for the past two hours.

I cleared my throat and held up my barely-started Transfiguration essay. "Human to human transfiguration is one of the most difficult types of magic to perform, as the mind fights off any attempts to morph itself. Successfully changing oneself into a different being is NEWT level or above skill and is believed to be a sign of strong sense of self and magical ability. Only those who are secure in their own physicality can execute this action fully and without dire consequences."

He gave me a thumbs up and nudged my foot with his own. "Why are you so worried about this essay? You could probably write it without having to do any research."

"Well I don't know if I'll be able to do the practical bits in class, do I? So I'd better make sure I've at least got the theory down." I answered him as I furiously scribbled down my thoughts, not even sparing him a look.

He shifted his position so that he was on all fours. "I think you need to relax."

"Wha-" My words died in my throat as he began crawling towards me with a mischievous look in his eye. "George, what are you-"

His arms were on either side of my shoulders, and I automatically pressed myself backwards against the pillow. My heart was racing with fear and anticipation, and my eyes fluttered shut as he leaned in towards me, the heat from his body warming me all the way down to my toes.

"Gotcha!" George pounced on me, his fingers attacking my most sensitive areas.

"Stop, stop!" I shrieked, my feet kicking about as I tried to scramble out of his strong-hold. "I h-hate being ti-tickled!"

Putting his quidditch muscles to good use, he rolled onto his back and yanked me on top of him, allowing him easier prodding-action to my stomach and sides.

I struggled for a moment longer before the heel of my right foot connected with his thigh. He let out a cry of pain and released me, and I bounded onto my feet with a triumphant grin.

"That's what you get," I said smugly as he held his cramping leg. "Sadistic sod."

George put his hands up in surrender, and I settled myself onto my mattress once again.

I observed him for a moment, enjoying the way his bright brown eyes softened when he looked at me. "I don't really feel like going to the Great Hall for dinner."

"That's funny… I feel the same way," he grinned. "I'll go get us something from the kitchens, and we'll eat in here."

I smiled as he clambered to his feet. "Back in a moment, my fair lady."

While I waited for George I pulled my essay onto my lap, reading over my work. With a sigh, I magically erased the 'Prudence 3s George' doodle he'd scrawled in the corner when I wasn't paying attention. Of course, there was no way for him to really know…right?

"So seriously, what do you have planned for the duel?" George asked me for the tenth time.

I ignored his question and bounded up the steps ahead of him. "You know, I heard Martin talking about the match on Saturday. Are you going to go?"

It was a dirty trick, but with everyone questioning me about fighting Ron, my nerves were starting to get the better of me.

"Well I've got to see Ginny play, don't I?" His face was casual but I could sense the bite to his tone.

"Is it terrible of me that I don't want my own house to win?" I chewed on my lip as we turned a corner. "I mean, Martin is just such a prick. And we have no chance at winning the cup anyway."

George whirled around and pinned me against the wall, using his height to his advantage as he pressed himself lightly against me. "Stop avoiding my question, Turner."

A smirk was slowly spreading across his face. I blushed and squirmed out from beneath his arms. "I'm not."

"Hey." I sighed and stopped walking while George came to stand in front of me. His hand stretched out and captured mine in his own. "Are you actually nervous about this?"

I mumbled something incoherent and turned away so our hands dropped.

"I wouldn't be nervous. First of all, it's Ron. He can't do anything non-verbal, and even if Hermione's been helping him, he's too thick to remember a single spell. Second of all, you're you. You're incredibly smart. You adapt to every situation. I mean, not everyone does so well when pricks like Applebee get drunk and hit on you and Grace is trying to get you to succumb to her twisted ways. Not to mention, you were brave enough to test me and Fred's products – Lee didn't last nearly as long as you."

I rolled my eyes at his praise to hide my embarrassment, but smiled nonetheless. "You should be a professional pep talker giver."

"Don't knock my pep talks, woman! I may be stupid but I'm not thick." George grinned down at me, proud.

We appeared at the empty stretch of wall at the same time as a group of Ravenclaws, Cho Chang among them.

"You're such a goober." I nudged George in the ribs and he nudged back as Terry Boot paced back and forth.

After one final nudge from me, he reached down and wrapped an arm around my waist, preventing any further prods. As soon as we were approached by Noel, Fred, and Lee he let go, and I couldn't tell if I was relieved or disappointed.

I listened to them chatter about quidditch, complain about Umbridge, and gossip about Eloise Smidgen's new pimple pattern, without really taking anything in. Any moment now I would be watched by every person in the room, expected to best a boy two years younger than me who was about ten times as brave, and afterwards I had to go to Dumbledore's office and tell him one of his students was a Death Eater.

"All right everyone, let's get started!" Harry called out, walking towards the center of the cavernous room. "First up for the duels is Ron and Prudence. You've got fifteen minutes, and if one of you isn't disarmed in the time allotted then whoever cast the most spells is the winner. Hermione has created a magical boundary around you, so your magic won't hit anyone other than your opponent."

At his nod, both Ron and I stepped inside of the blue, glowing lines that had been drawn along a generous section of the floor. George gave me a thumbs up and Noel mouthed, 'destroy him.' Fred was standing at the back of the group, quietly gathering up money, undoubtedly for bets.

"Duelers ready?" Harry asked. We both raised our wands and bowed. "Go!"

I knew Ron had quick reactions thanks to his quidditch skills, so the first thing I did was leap to the side. His first spell, a reductor curse, missed me by a mile, bouncing into the boundaries and exploding in a wave of red sparks. He barely had time to blink before I hit him in the shoulder with a freezing jinx, which he quickly undid, but not before his feet were swept out from under him.

Rather than duel him while he was on his back, I changed my angle and threw up a shield charm. He scrambled to his feet and shot a jet of purple light at me. My shield disintegrated in a spectacular fashion, exploding into fine pieces of rubble and bouncing around my legs as I repositioned.

This was easy enough; Ron knew no non-verbal magic, and I could block his advances without really trying. I felt badly, because we were so unevenly matched, and I was about to let him win until I heard Zacharias Smith's nasally voice from the crowd.

"Come on Ron, she's got no talent, she's just had more practice! Toss a couple of stinging jinxes at her, first one to the shoulder and second one to the shins! Are you really going to lose to a girl?"

I shot my first spell at Zacharias; I knew it would do no damage thanks to the boundaries Hermione had put up, but the look on his face was pretty priceless. In two seconds flat Ron's wand was arcing into the air, and I leapt forward to catch it in my left hand.

The girls in the room burst into a round of applause, and I heard George's whistle through the din. Ron shot me a very unhappy look as he collected his wand from me with a mumbled, "thanks." I shrugged apologetically and eagerly moved back into the fold, no longer wanting to be stared at like a specimen on display at a museum.

Noel was trying to suppress a smile as she came to stand beside me. "Not bad, Turner. Just wait till it's you and me though. You'll be dancing around so much you won't have time to cast a single spell."

"Thanks Noel," I said with her signature eye roll. I figured that was her way of congratulating me. I turned my attention to Fred. "So, how much money did you make?"

Fred plucked at his collar happily. "Fifteen galleons, nine sickles, and eleven knuts! Thanks a million, love."

George nudged his brother. "Oi, you owe her at least fifty percent of the profits!"

"All right, all right! That's…seven galleons, five sickles, and six knuts, all for you." Fred dropped the change into my palm.

"Now, when are you going to take me on a date with all that coinage?" George's face was twisted into a smirk.

I pretended to think about it. "Hmm, well that all depends. What are you going to do for me?"

Fred smirked, Lee smothered a cough, and Noel laughed delightedly at my blatant flirting. My heart felt like it was going to rupture at any moment, but I refused to blush or even look away.

"Well, I could do this." His eyes sparkling, George's arms shot around my waist and I was lowered into a dip like a scene out of a romantic film. He stared at me teasingly for a moment before his lips found my…cheek. I was then returned to a standing position as the students who had observed us 'oohed' and burst into snickers.

This time I couldn't hold back my red cheeks, but I was immensely thankful that all he'd done was snog my cheek. Even though I was embarrassed, he'd given me the perfect leave. "I'm going to run to the loo…wait until things calm down before I come back. I'm just a little shaky is all."

Knowing that shakiness was the first sign of one of my panic attacks, none of them questioned me as I fled from the room, shoving my way through hordes of scarlet, blue, and yellow until I could breathe fresh air.

Glancing around to ensure an empty corridor, I walked quickly and purposefully towards the main staircase. That was one objective down…the second one was going to be a bit more unnerving. When Dumbledore looked at you, he _really _looked. I knew he could invade my mind without any effort whatsoever, but I had the distinct feeling that he would understand what happened without having to do anything at all.

I encountered no one on my way to the Headmaster's office, which was surprising. Umbridge had special group of students, comprised solely of Slytherins, patrolling the halls under the guise of safety and who were always lurking around corners. She called them the Inquisitorial Squad, and I'd only ever seen them interrogating Gryffindors or students known to support Dumbledore. I'd been forced to intervene once when they were trying to dock points from Ginny for being a blood-traitor.

"Fizzing Whizbee," I stated to the gargoyle, which sprung aside to reveal a spiraling staircase. I stepped onto it, less hesitantly than the first time, and found myself in front of his office. I entered upon Dumbledore's approval and found him in his night robes, sitting behind his desk with his hands folded. He looked very tired.

"Ah, Miss Turner. I'm terribly sorry to meet with you so late, but I deemed this conversation to be of great importance, and I'm afraid I was, ah, tied up for the better part of the evening." His blue eyes, though exhausted, still twinkled at me as I sat down across from him.

I smiled tightly. "It's not a problem Sir. I imagine being…well, you, must be pretty difficult."

He chuckled and settled himself more comfortably in his wing-backed chair. "Knowledge is a great privilege, and also a great responsibility. I confess it's kept me much busier than usual."

"If I may, Sir…what have you been doing? Does it have to do with V- You-Know-Who?" I grimaced as I choked on the name, but Dumbledore's expression did not change.

"Though Cornelius would never admit it, there have been several disappearances lately that I believe to be the work of Death Eaters, though whether they are working under their master's orders is unclear," the Headmaster spoke.

My stomach clenched involuntarily. "Sir, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I found out some information. About Graham Montague."

Once again, his countenance remained the same. "Oh? What would you like to share with me Miss Turner? Whatever it is, it seemed most vital from the message you sent me."

"The other night I, er, found myself in the Slytherin common room. And I, erm, went into the seventh year boy's dormitory. I was only there for a moment when I saw it." His eyes darkened ever so slightly. "There was a Dark Mark, right there on his left forearm. Just out in the open, like he was proud of it."

Dumbledore was silent for a moment. For a minute, I feared he had fallen asleep. I'd read somewhere that people could go into a hypnotic-like state where they "slept" with their eyes open. "I must ask you never to do that again."

"I'm sorry?" The words left my mouth before my brain had even processed my thoughts.

Though his tone was still pleasant, his blue eyes stared at me urgently. "Miss Turner, while I admire your bravery and your willingness to contribute, you are still a student under my care. I think we would agree that any student wearing those robes would be unwise to "find" herself in the dungeons, especially at night."

My head bowed slightly. "Yes Sir. I'm sorry."

"But," he continued, and I raised my chin slightly. "Since you went through all of that trouble and risked a great deal, I would like it if you could tell me everything from the beginning."

I recounted the night in explicit detail, telling him the lot: the strength of my spell, the scent of the slimy, green-tinted walls, even the way that the dormitory had been set up. When I got to the part about Lazarus, his fingers tightened ever so slightly from their clasped position, and his lips dropped into a small frown when I quoted Montague's rant about the benefits of working for You-Know-Who.

When I finished, he looked directly at me, and I felt as though my brain were being scrutinized beneath a microscope. "How did the others act? Bole, Pucey, Warrington?"

"Erm…Bole and Warrington acted like, well – have you seen how Crabbe and Goyle act around Draco Malfoy? – like that. They didn't seem to be a real threat, though I could be wrong. I do not believe that either of them have joined the ranks of the Death Eaters yet." I paused, chewing on my lip. "Pucey was different. It was like he couldn't have cared less what Montague was saying. Like he knew something Montague didn't."

Dumbledore's gaze did not shift away from me. "Would you say that Pucey follows Montague like Bole and Warrington?"

"I think Pucey lets Montague think he's in charge. But there's something off about him. The other day-" I cut myself off, unsure of whether I should tell him about the confrontation before potions. At his silent urging, I reluctantly continued. "I was stopped in the dungeons on the way to Snape's classroom."

Once again, I overwhelmed the aged Headmaster with every detail, however minute. I told him how Lazenby had been there, almost like a pet Rottweiler, ready to sic himself on me at the approval of his owner. How I'd nearly been obliviated by both Lazenby and Montague at once. How Pucey had stopped it, and how he'd lingered just a moment longer than everyone else.

"I see…" There was a pause. "I thank you greatly for the information you've provided me, Miss Turner. However, unless there is another matter which you should like to discuss, must I suggest we both head off to bed?" Dumbledore looked at me pleasantly as he spoke, his tone light, but I could detect the sternness beneath his calm exterior.

That was it? After everything I had gone through? I was practically sleeping with one eye open every night and all he could do was give me a brief word of thanks before dismissing me? "No Sir. There's nothing else."

"I trust you to see yourself out. If anyone stops you on the way back, you may give them this note." I accepted the small slip of parchment from him. "Please try not to be disappointed. When you get to be as old as I, you are able to see things much more clearly. I assure you that you do not yet need to be risking your health for a weary, aging man such as me. I unfortunately believe there will be much time for that later, and I also believe that you will make a great edition to the Order of the Phoenix after you have finished your education."

I smiled at his knowing stare and thanked him before he turned and headed up a small staircase that I'd been unable to notice before. After a quick sweep of the room, still in awe of the magical aura that filled it, I shut the door gently behind me and lit my wand so I could make my way back to the common room.

It was a quiet journey, one that allowed me to ponder over our brief conversation. He was acting as though he'd already known what I was going to say, at least about Montague. He'd barely been surprised when I'd told him about the Dark Mark, and had only seemed truly taken aback by Lazenby's actions toward me. Did he have someone else who was keeping him informed? Someone who was spying on the Slytherins, bringing back their dirty secrets to be used against them? I walked faster, intent on getting these thoughts onto the parchment in my trunk before I forgot. I was so focused on this idea that I barely registered the light shining from beneath the door to my dormitory.

"Where the hell have you been?"

I froze, the harshness of Noel's voice stopping me dead in my tracks. "Erm…hello."

Noel was standing in the center of the room with her arms crossed, adorned in pale pink, satin pajamas that left Lee staring helplessly at her bum. Her hair was in curlers and her makeup-less brown eyes somehow looked even more threatening than usual. "Don't 'erm, hello' us!" she snapped.

"Seriously, we went looking for you after the, ah, meeting," George shot a sideways glance toward Grace's closed bed hangings, "and couldn't find you anywhere. We even looked in the Astronomy Tower. Figured maybe you were getting a head start on next week's homework."

"I'm sorry you were all waiting up for me. I didn't mean to make you worry. I was walking back when I ran into Gemma and we lost track of time, that's all." The lie spun off my tongue and I immediately felt sick to my stomach. I just couldn't tell them, they'd get too angry at me for being involved in something so dangerous. They all treated me like a child, but I could take care of myself. I'd had no real parents when I was growing up, and I was fine.

Fred let out a huge yawn and rubbed his eyes. "Well now that we know you're all right, I think we should head back to the tower. Got some homework to finish up. Come on Lee."

Lee affectionately planted a kiss atop Noel's head as Fred ruffled my hair. The door closed behind them softly, and I straightened out my now mussed up plait with a sigh.

"I'll be in the loo if anyone needs me," Noel said with all the subtlety of an elephant trying to tap dance.

I stared at him. He stared at me. I could practically hear a clock ticking, even though there wasn't one in the room. Could I really keep up this charade? I knew he knew something was off. I just didn't know if he was going to pry it out of me.

"I'm going to take a wild guess that this had something to do with Montague," he said finally. I nodded reluctantly, and George chuckled wryly. "Just promise me you won't do anything stupid, yeah? I want you in one piece."

"That's all?" I asked with a blink. "No lecture, no forbidding me to go near him? Nothing?"

He grinned and stepped closer. I could feel the heat radiating from his body and I longed to close the gap. "Well, I trust you. You're smart, and you're resourceful. Honestly, if anyone can take him down it would be you."

I blushed at his praise, but smiled up at him just the same. Slowly, his right hand reached out and caressed my cheek. His knuckles grazed the skin gently, causing goosebumps to erupt along my arms and legs. He then cupped my chin and tilted my head up so our lips met at an angle. His mouth was so soft and warm and he kissed me so gently that I could physically feel my legs turning to jelly.

I made an impatient noise when he pulled away, but he simply smirked and bent down to kiss my cheek. "Good night, love."

"Good night, George." I watched him exit and listened to his footsteps until I couldn't hear them anymore, before pulling out my pajamas and clambering into bed. For the first time in a long time, my sleep was nightmare-free.

When I awoke the next morning, something felt…off. There was a buzz in the air, and my nerves were immediately on edge. Still, I determinedly got on with my morning routine, showering and brushing out my hair, which had grown long in the months I'd been at school. I dressed in a methodical fashion; first my undershirt, then my blouse, my skirt, sweater, tie, stockings, shoes, and lastly, robes.

I packed my satchel with everything I could possibly need, from textbooks to essays to extra socks and quills (I wasn't taking any chances; this was the time of year that Peeves got the most rowdy). I pulled out one of the wizarding genealogy books I'd borrowed from the library while Noel got ready, immersing myself in the history of a family of the name Peverell.

It was extremely interesting. They were the first family to become extinct in the male line, as the three sons had all died, two of them very young, leaving behind few to remember them. It was a shame. They'd had a long history with the wizarding world. They were all said to have been very skilled with magic, and very clever as well.

"Is it just me, or is there something odd happening?"

I glanced up as Noel exited the bathroom, looking as stunning as always, and closed the book. "I feel it too. I'm more anxious than usual. I hope we're not going to enter the Great Hall and find out Dumbledore's been sacked or something."

Looking at my stricken face, she laughed. "I'm just kidding, Merlin, Turner. You _are _jumpier than usual. Let's go get you your tea and your man. Perhaps that will calm you down."

I ignored her barbs as I tossed my bag over my shoulder and followed her out to the common room. There was nothing amiss here; the typical fifth years were sitting in front of the fire with bags beneath their eyes, frantically scribbling onto parchment with greasy, matted hair that indicated they hadn't slept or washed in days, first years squeaking at each other over a game of Wizard's Chess, and Martin, Terrence, and Patrick bent over a book of quidditch plays, prepping for tomorrow's match.

We shrugged at one another and continued towards the Entrance Hall, where we met up with Lee, the twins, and Angelina. Fred was attempting to hold her hand and she kept punching him and telling him to "bugger off."

I allowed George to settle himself beside me and prep my cup of tea for me. It was a new habit he'd developed, and I wasn't complaining. As I reached forward to scoop some eggs onto my plate, the owls swooped in with varying screeches and hoots, depositing parcels and letters from home amongst the four tables. I rustled around in my bag for a knut, which I placed into the small coinpurse that was attached to the owl in front of me.

George pushed the cup in front of me as I unrolled the copy of the Daily Prohpet I had just received, and I gave him a murmured thanks. As the first page hit my eyes, a large picture of a maniacal looking woman glared up at me, and I choked and spluttered on my tea. The newspaper dropped from my hands and fell into my eggs, the corners soaking up the grease.

"Prudence? What's wrong?" Noel asked. She, Fred, George, Lee, and everyone nearby was now eyeing me with concern.

I pointed down at the Prophet with a shaking finger, and George lunged for it, his eyes tearing across the page.

"Mass breakout," he said in a hollow tone. "You-Know-Who's most dangerous followers. They've escaped Azkaban."

Noel clapped a hand over her mouth. Lee moaned and held his stomach like he was going to be sick. Ginny tossed a worried look down the table to Harry and Ron, who were clinging onto Hermione's every word. She was one of the few students besides me who actually received and read the Prophet on a, well, daily basis.

George was immediately in my ear, whispering that things were going to be okay and that the dementors would find them soon, but I could only focus on Neville Longbottom, whose face was so ashen that I feared he may have died of shock. He stood up abruptly, causing the pitcher of pumpkin juice to splash onto Parvati Patil, but he ignored her cries of indignance and stalked out of the hall.

I glanced at George, who was watching me carefully. "Be right back," I muttered, and without further explanation I got up and followed Neville out. If there was anyone who understood what I felt right now, it was him.

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><p><strong>AN: Hi everyone, I'm so sorry for the wait on this one. I just haven't felt up to writing anything lately to be honest. I worked hard to give certain parts of this chapter the lighthearted tone it needed, so I apologize if it seems disgenuine. To all my new readers, welcome! I promise my updates aren't always this long. To everyone else, please don't be mad, I made this one extra long to make up for the wait!**

**UP NEXT: Prudence explains all to Neville, the Gryffindors face off against the Hufflepuffs, and Umbridge strikes again. Stay tuned!**


	23. Lions for Slaughter

**Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

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><p>The only thing that ran through my mind as I chased after him was that he was the only person who could understand how I felt. Unlike him, however, I had the knowledge of power. I knew about his parents, but he didn't know about mine. In fact, he might only be aware of the fact that it was Bellatrix Lestrange, the woman whose heavily-lidded eyes glared up at me from the Prophet this morning, who had done it. He might not know the where, the why, or the how. Dumbledore was right. Knowledge was a great responsibility.<p>

Just before I reached the doors that led to the Entrance Hall, I caught Lazenby's stare. His lips were curled into a smirk but his eyes were cold, piercing through my seven layers of skin straight to my heart, which skipped a beat out of fear. Shuddering, I turned away and burst out of the room. Neville was about twenty strides ahead of me, heading straight for the grounds.

Wrapping my robes tightly around me and desperately wishing for my cloak, I moved quickly, able to catch the doors on their backswing. He was hunched over and shaking, his hands grappling for purchase on the icy wall.

"Neville?" I called out timidly, shivering in the frosty, Scottish morning. I'd never spoken with the boy before. I'd never had a reason to.

His head turned slightly, and I could see tear tracks running down his cheek. "I'm fine, just not feeling well. My stomach."

I moved closer, so my words wouldn't get lost in the howling winds that swept across the grounds and whipped my hair loose from its plait. "My mother. She lost her mind. She can't speak, because she doesn't know how. She can hardly walk on her own. She doesn't know who anyone is. She's barely alive."

"That…that sounds like my parents," he said softly. "It happened when I was one. Bellatrix Lestrange, the one in the paper. She did it. Cruciatus Curse."

"I know. She got my mum, too. I was three," I responded hollowly.

He frowned, obviously confused. "Same thing by the same woman…when you were three…which is when I was one…which is when it happened."

I waited patiently, but when he didn't speak, I decided to explain. "My mother was with two aurors named Frank and Alice Longbottom. They were new, to both the Ministry and the Order. After You-Know-Who disappeared, the three of them went to a known Death Eater hideout in an attempt to capture them."

Neville had straightened up now, his cheeks void of any color in spite of the cold.

"They got trapped in a room. You see, they didn't have long to gather intelligence. They knew the Death Eaters would run and go into hiding and we wouldn't be able to find them. They went in practically blind, not knowing the layout of the home at all. They set off sirens, and Bellatrix Lestrange found and tortured them to the breaking point." I tried my hardest not to choke on my words, but every time the topic came up and I imagined what happened that night I felt bile rising in my throat.

He blinked, and his Adam's Apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed a lump. "So they were together at the time? Why isn't your mother in the ward then, at St. Mungo's? The incurable wing?"

"My erm…my father is a doctor, a Muggle healer. He was very angry about what had happened, blamed it on magic. He didn't want anything to do with it anymore, so he decided he could give better care in our own home." It was the first time I'd told anyone this. George may have known about my mother, but my lips were always sealed when it came to my dad.

Neville nodded, and I clamped my mouth together to prevent my teeth from chattering. "I guess that's understandable. Can I ask how you feel about this? The b-breakout, I mean?"

"Like I'm going to be sick any minute." I managed a tight-lipped smile.

"Yeah…I've got McGonagall next but I'm worried I might have to run to the loo," he said, looking down at his shoes. "At least then people would probably think I was ill or something."

I tried for a laugh. "Come on, let's go get our things from the Great Hall and be almost sick on our way to class."

He agreed with a wobbly grin, and we reentered the warmth of the castle. As we crossed the threshold of the cavernous room, filled with the roar of happy, carefree students who didn't subscribe to the Daily Prophet, my eyes sought him out.

He was sitting in the center of the table, holding court without speaking. His face was devoid of any emotion, but when he caught my eye his lips curled into a menacing sneer. I fought to catch my breath, feeling dizzy, but took the both of us by surprise when I found myself waving to him. Neville gave me a curious look.

"Stay clear of him, especially today, okay? He's dangerous," I told him darkly.

"Dangerous how?" He waited for me as I found my vacated seat, my satchel directly beneath it. Noel, Lee, and the twins had long since departed, and I hurried back to him, not knowing how long we had until the bell.

We exited the hall together, garnering some stares. To an outsider, this pairing was completely out of the blue. "Do you remember when I was unconscious in the Hospital Wing before Christmas?"

Neville nodded. "Well, that was him. Cast a curse that started to shut down my internal organs. If it weren't for Madame Pomphrey, I'd probably be dead." I purposely avoided the fact about him being a Death Eater. I trusted him, but I didn't want to take any chances of it spreading around the school because I knew any backlash would come right to me.

"He tried to kill you?!"

I hushed him as a group of small Hufflepuffs rushed past, their skinny legs carrying them as fast as they could. We must have been cutting it close. "This is where I leave you. I've got Flitwick, so I'll be up a floor."

He waved goodbye, looking considerably less shaken, and I gave him a genuine smile. I'd been utterly terrified when I'd opened the paper this morning, but being around someone who knew and understood the thoughts rushing through my head was the ultimate relief.

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><p>"I still don't know what you could possibly have to talk to Longbottom about," Noel complained, tossing me a glare.<p>

For the past 12 or so hours, she had been whining and begging me to tell her. Since we'd come to know each other so well she'd dropped the pretense that she didn't care what went on in my day-to-day life, and there were times, like now, when I missed our old need-to-know relationship.

I sighed. "For the final time Noel, I thought he was displaying signs of a panic attack and I wanted to help. That's all."

"Ah, leave her be, love. Can't you see our darling Prudence has had enough?" Fred slung an arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side. He seemed awfully cheery considering this was the first time he'd be going to a Gryffindor match as a spectator in six years.

I elbowed my way to freedom with a pointed stare. "Shouldn't you be more concerned about your house advancing towards the cup?"

"We're done for," Lee said seriously. "Abandon all hope I say! Place our faith in something worthwhile, like Umbridge getting trampled by a stampede of rogue centaurs!"

The five of us all laughed together, fighting our way through the crowd to try and get good seats in spite of the slaughter that Gryffindor was sure to receive when we heard the most dreaded sound in all of Hogwarts history.

"Hem hem."

Slowly, almost comically, we turned around amidst the mass of students to face the aforementioned woman in all her pink glory, who was smiling so widely I thought her jaw might unhinge and swallow us whole.

"Can we help you, Professor?" Noel asked in her most polite tone, which really wasn't all that civil.

Almost defying the laws of physics, her smile grew in size. "Well, I'm afraid Misters Weasley have a lifetime ban on quidditch, and won't be allowed to attend the match today."

Fred, George, and Lee immediately began to protest, but were cut off by the timely arrival of Professor McGonagall. "Dolores, do we have a problem here?"

"I was merely explaining to them that they couldn't attend the match, as I have placed them under a lifetime ban of quidditch for their nasty, nasty behavior," Umbridge said, her voice sickly sweet and her black eyes glittering viciously.

McGonagall's nostrils flared, as they always did whenever the stout woman was around. "You placed a ban on _playing _the sport, not watching it. I see no harm in the pair attending, so long as they're not causing any distractions for the players. Unless they have detention with you right now at this very moment, I believe they are free to spectate all they want."

Umbridge looked like she would quite like to come up with a reason to place them in detention so she could torture them while her wall-cats purred in satisfaction, but McGonagall's stoic expression terrified even me, who was not involved in the confrontation whatsoever.

"Very well," she said finally, "but rest assured I will be altering the paperwork for the official school records."

"Yes, yes, whatever pleases you," McGonagall snapped, and Noel actually snorted out loud. The Deputy Head Mistress appeared satisfied for a brief second. "Well, off you go then! Go before _I _decide to put you in detention for loitering."

We all grinned at one another and fled, Fred and George waving sarcastically at Umbridge as we went.

"That was close!" I shouted over the roar as we made it outside. The closer we got to the pitch, the louder it got.

"That old windbag loves nothing more than ruining people's lives because her own is so cowardly and pathetic." Noel stated this boldly, confidently, and I glanced around in fear for her safety, though it seemed no one had been listening.

Lee grabbed her, spun her into his arms in one swift motion, and leaned down to plant a long, deep kiss on her lips. I even saw tongue. After about ten seconds, he returned her to an upright position. "I've got to jet and go warm up my vocal cords. See you all later, don't forget to insult some Puffers for me!"

"Treason!" I cried after him, half-joking. While I loathed half of my house's quidditch players, there was still that feeling of Hufflepuff pride that prevented me from being fully invested in the scarlet-robed team.

After another ten minutes of hustling, bustling, and the twins shoving people out of the way with their bony elbows, we finally found seats next to Neville, Seamus Finnegan, and Dean Thomas up high, the pitch spread out before us.

"Anyone care to make a bet?" Fred inquired innocently, casually sliding a notebook and quill out of his pocket.

Dean snorted. "10 to 1 on Hufflepuff."

Seamus raised his brows at his roommate. "Please, I say we're scored on at least twelve times before our chasers even _see_ the quaffle. They'll be too busy dodging bludgers to play much; have you lot watched our new beaters in action? Their quidditch skills match what I believe Crabbe and Goyle accomplish academically."

"Have some faith, will you?" Neville asked, his tone sharper than usual. When everyone turned to him in disbelief, his cheeks reddened and he ducked his head. "Sorry. No sleep."

George ruffled his hair affectionately, even though the boy was only two years younger and well on his way to six feet tall. "Bless you and your hope, Neville."

Lee began the usual pre-match speech, discussing the weather conditions and announcing the players and their positions, as well as reminding everyone of the rules.

"You know, quidditch was one of the only reasons I stayed," Fred said suddenly, and George eyed him thoughtfully.

"Without being able to play or sell our products anywhere thanks to Umbridge's minions, what good can we do here, Forge?" he replied.

Fred nodded sagely. "I know exactly what you mean, Gred."

"I don't," I said with alarm. "What on earth are you two going on about?"

The two exchanged a look, then each reached over and pinched my cheeks. I slapped their hands away and glared at them, refusing to let them weasel (no pun intended) their way out of this.

"Nothing you need to worry about, love," George said, pulling me into his side, planting a kiss atop my head.

My insides flooded with warmth and I fought the urge to giggle maniacally, but I remained silent until the match started and the two teams were in the air, afraid that if I opened my mouth that every terrible question I had might burst forth and receive equally terrible answers.

"Bollocks!" Noel shouted. Several large, dark storm clouds rolled in, unleashing a mighty sheet of rain that soaked us through all seven layers in an instant.

George immediately extracted his wand from his pocket, casting a drying spell on first me, Noel, and then himself before conjuring two umbrellas, one of which was handed to the foul-mouthed redhead who was currently showcasing her colorful vocabulary to the sky.

"20-0 Hufflepuff," Lee announced glumly, his words nearly getting lost in the deluge. "Captain and center chaser Martin Applebee catches his own rebound and scores twice on Weasley number six, and oh! Gryffindor chaser Katie Bell goes down with a nasty hit to the back of the head."

I edged out of George's arms in worry, but he pulled me gently back into his embrace and out of the rain, one arm around me and the other holding the umbrella over us. "She's okay, she's taken harder hits off Fred and I in practices. Relax."

I let out a breath at his words, and in spite of the chill that hung in the early spring air, I felt his body heat radiating towards me. My head was right next to his neck, which had skin that looked so pale and smooth that I fought the urge to test it with my lips. He smelled of cinnamon and smoke, perhaps from a failed product testing, and had three small freckles just beneath his left ear. In a trance-like state, I ignored Lee's call of Hufflepuff's newly scored goal and traced the empty space between them.

George shivered and glanced down at me in amusement. "Having fun there?"

"And she scores! Angelina Johnson, the sexiest girl I know who can beat the absolute sense out of me dodges not one but two bludgers to heave it through the left hoop, just out of O'Neill's reach! Better luck next time Hufflepuff!"

I blushed. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me."

He smiled and we both turned our attention back to the game to see Ron let the quaffle fly right past his nose; my house proceeded to score five more times within the span of ten minutes, and his face went from stricken to defeated.

"This is brutal," Noel said in wonder, accepting a flask from Seamus and taking a hearty sip.

"Oh, shit," Dean cursed. Andrew Kirke, George's replacement and apparent paramour of Gemma, in his eagerness to whack the bludger across the pitch slipped and fell off his broom, face-planting in the mud.

I buried my face in George's shoulder, peering out only when Madame Hooch's whistle sounded to let the match continue.

Another five minutes passed. "And the score is 160-20, in case there are any masochistic lions in the crowd," Lee announced.

Fred was cheering Angelina on as she streaked down the pitch, determined to face the seven Hufflepuffs flying in her path head on, when all of a sudden Jack Sloper intercepted an oncoming bludger with so much zest that his bat left his grasp, smacking her square in the mouth. I cringed as the rain caused the blood to dribble down her chin like a grotesque waterfall, and a very angry Alicia flew over to berate him as Angelina cupped her hands to her face.

While all of this was happening, Katie tried her best to play on but took a bludger to the ribs and skidded along the stands. Terrence scored twice more now that there were no players in his way, putting their total at 180, when there was a sudden flash of scarlet shooting straight up towards the sky.

"I don't believe it – Ginny Weasley has caught the snitch! Gryffindor-" there was a muffled discussion between McGonagall and Lee, "still loses, by ten points. The victory goes to Hufflepuff, the final score being 180 to 170," he finished with a sigh.

Neville glanced down at his watch in disbelief. "It's only been 22 minutes!"

Not wanting to witness the gloating that was sure to come (only from Martin, Terrence, and Patrick, as most other Hufflepuffs had more sensitivity than a brain dead gorilla), the Gryffindor stand cleared out fast, and I gripped the sleeve of George's robes so I wouldn't lose him in the mob. Crowds had always made me nervous, and I felt myself starting to breathe more shallowly.

There was no way he could have heard me, not over the roar of hyped up students, but still he turned, knelt down in the muck and puddles, and offered me his back. Too shaken to argue, I slid onto it, my legs finding their way around his slender waist.

Students adorned in emerald, yellow, blue and scarlet swirled around us but I felt detached from it all, my mind focused on his generous actions.

"How did you know?" I asked in his ear, my hands gripping his shoulders as the flood continued to soak us to our skin.

He turned his head ever so slightly, mere inches from my own but still I struggled to hear. "Whenever you've been somewhere with a lot of people, like in the corridors between classes or during holiday feasts in the Great Hall, you've had this look of complete and utter terror on your face. Agoraphobia. Read up on it."

His words were so matter-of-fact, like he wasn't the kindest, most perfect human in the world. "You…you're…"

"You're welcome," he said sincerely, not a trace of sarcasm or smugness to be found.

Once we made it out of the storm and into the castle, we followed Fred up three flights of stairs before we ducked behind a tapestry that brought us out just around the corner from Gryffindor Tower. More people knew about it than just us, but most didn't like to use it because it was narrow and the flooring was uneven. Lee and the twins, however, knew the path like the back of their hands, and so I just stepped where they stepped.

"I'm actually really glad Martin was playing today," I commented through the dankness. "That means I don't have to patrol tonight, so I don't have to deal with the quidditch crowds."

After matches, there were _always _fights that ranged from Muggle karate to break dancing to Wizard dueling. People were angry, over emotional, and usually drunk, whether it be out of celebration or pity, and didn't take kindly to a soft-spoken Hufflepuff telling them to return to their dormitories, oh, and ten points from Ravenclaw.

However, I should have known that I'd spoken too soon. Lee and Fred took it upon themselves to host a Loser's Party in the common room and it filled up quickly, the rivalry between the houses forgotten in a haze of smoke and slew of alcohol.

The only actual player from the Gryffindor team in attendance was Jack Sloper, who was bopping along off-beat to the music and getting drunk off of wine coolers. Someone had placed a pair of white men's knickers atop his head and he hadn't yet noticed, leading to a group of fourteen year old girls giggling from across the room.

Fred was once again taking up bets, this time for when people thought the party would get busted, and Dean and Seamus were manning the bar, serving both Muggle and Wizarding drinks alike. Noel was demonstrating what she called "dropping it low" for Lee on the makeshift dance floor in front of the fireplace. Both were sweating profusely, their hands and mouths colliding in desperation. I figured they would end up in a broom closet or abandoned classroom soon.

"Let's go upstairs, yeah?" George spoke in my ear. "Kenneth's the unlucky bastard who's patrolling, and Lee and Fred are down here so you can get some peace and quiet."

I smiled at him gratefully as the smell of alcohol burned my nostrils. As I climbed the stairs behind him, I rubbed my left wrist and tried to curb the nausea that was building in my stomach. The calm, cool dormitory was an immediate relief, and I gratefully sat down on his bed and took deep breaths in and out.

He rustled around in his trunk and withdrew two bottles. I tensed until I saw their labels. He relaxed against his desk with his butterbeer and I unscrewed the cap of the gillywater he'd handed me and took a hearty sip.

"Anything you want to tell me?" George asked. He wasn't demanding answers, wasn't forcing me to do anything I didn't want to do. He was just inquiring, letting me know I could speak with him if I so desired.

An odd feeling swelled in my chest and it was like the room was suddenly sharper, clearer. I stood and wandered over to him until the tips of our shoes met. Ever so slowly I set my drink down beside him, my fingertips grazing his hip.

George was watching me carefully, unmoving. My hands still at my sides, I tilted upwards until I connected with his lips, which were warm from the temperature and sweet from the butterbeer. I lingered for a moment, moving my mouth gently over his. After several seconds I withdrew and I opened my eyes to see him staring down at me with an odd expression across his face.

"What was that for?" he asked hoarsely. That was the first time that I'd kissed him; every other bit of physicality between us had been led by him. I was usually just along for the ride.

I shrugged, blushing. "You're sort of a superhero. You're sort of _my _superhero."

The left corner of his mouth turned up as he too set down his drink, and there was a vague thought flitting through my head that we would leave rings behind on the oak, but then his hands were on my hips and his face was much too close to mine.

This was more insistent than his previous advances. He dragged his right hand up the side of my body until it came to rest behind my head, the pressure there allowing his lips to mold against mine with a greater force and quickly pulling me into a daze.

This felt _so _good. All of those nights I had spent watching Noel and Grace and their various suitors could not have prepared me for the feeling of flightiness that spread through my body like wildfire, and even though I felt weightless I managed to sense every muscle in my body and the way it interacted with his.

The thumb of his left hand grazed the area from my hip to my upper thigh, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. The tip of his tongue probed for entrance, and I shivered in anticipation. I wasn't scared like I thought I would be; I was excited.

Our mouths opened wider and I was strangely turned on by the warm, slimy sensation of his tongue against mine. My hips were pressed against his now, and I noted that I was no longer holding myself up whatsoever. My hands, almost of their own accord, found their way to his shoulders, and I pulled him even closer towards me. His fingers, resting against my lower hip, tightened and moved to my back. Any lower and he would be gripping my bum.

"Mph," he muttered as his motions stilled, his lips still resting against mine. "Prudence," he whispered, and I could physically feel his struggle against my skin. "Prudence," he whispered again. His eyes were shut, his forehead resting on mine.

I pulled away so I could gasp for air. I didn't think I'd breathed that entire time. "That was, erm, nice."

George laughed aloud and I exhaled in relief. "That was _really _nice."

"Can we talk now?" I asked after a brief moment of silence, my voice small. The bass from seven floors below very softly pounded against the floor, and I nervously wrung my hands.

"Of course, love," he answered swiftly, dragging his hand down the back of my head before resting at the nape of my neck in a motion that should have made me feel like a pet, but instead made me feel comforted.

We settled ourselves onto his bed side by side, and I slipped my legs beneath the sheets while he respectfully remained atop the covers. "You have to promise not to be mad…"

And I told him everything. The tale of my trek to the dungeons, the chase given by Lazenby, the confrontation with Montague in the dungeons and Pucey's curious look. I discussed Gemma and Andrew, and how Gemma had been treating me differently lately and how it worried me. I told him about my father.

"After my mother was attacked, my father grew angry. He was furious and bitter all the time, and he would explode at a random moment, causing me, even as a toddler, to tiptoe around the house and try to blend in with the shadows. He blamed magic, you see. Said that nothing _normal _could steal a person's mind like that." I swallowed harshly, the gillywater not seeming like a good idea anymore.

"He kept her at home, claiming that St. Mungo's would destroy her even further. He was convinced he could fix her, that there must be some way to drag her back to the present. He didn't know what to do with a young child though, he'd been too busy supporting his family and saving other people's lives." I stopped for a moment to gather my thoughts, unsure of how best to explain.

George shifted so he was staring right into my eyes but did not touch me. I knew he'd had his suspicions for a while, and he was just waiting for me to confirm them. "When he couldn't, when she didn't respond to him, her loving husband, he became very withdrawn. He spent every waking hour in his study, poring over books and research articles and journals looking for some solution. If something went wrong or an idea of his didn't work, you'd hear bottles smashing against the door.

"When I was about five I didn't know what my father looked like without a drink in his hand, and I didn't understand that not everyone smelled like a brewery. Even now, I couldn't tell you what his smile looked like. I'm not even certain of the color of his eyes," I murmured. "I'm too much like my mother in appearance. He always looked at me with such loathing and took care not to be around me for long. He hated me, really hated me. I was a living, breathing reminder of what he could've had. His English fantasy, a wife, daughter, white picket-fenced house in the country torn apart by the evils of magic."

He was sitting completely still, as though he were afraid to break my concentration.

"He hired a live-in nurse, not to care for my mother but to care for me. Her name was Johanna, and she was an old lady who had lost her husband to the war very early on but never remarried. If it weren't for her, I probably would have starved to death. It was from her I learned to talk, how to eat with a knife and fork and how to draw. She was very talented. She had planned to be an artist, but when the war came and she was left on her own she had to go back to school and learn a new skill to make a living." I smiled, momentarily lost in the few happy thoughts from my childhood.

"What happened to her?" George asked, almost timid.

I shrugged. "She died about a year and a half after my father hired her. She was old and she'd been sick for a long time. She was cremated instead of buried, so I can't visit her, but every year on her passing I light a candle. Seems small, considering all she did for me in such a short time but it's the thought that counts, right? Anyway, at age seven I became very independent. I used the stove on my own and cooked my own meals. I found the stash of money my father hid in the medicine cabinet so I could buy things like toothpaste and school supplies."

"When I was seven," I started, and my voice turned hollow, almost detached. "My mother was lucid for six hours. It was the day she took me to the pond. My father was ecstatic, treating her like royalty. He had an entire romantic evening planned for when we got back from skating. Unfortunately, before they could even sit down for dinner, she reverted. He blamed me, said I'd kept her too long and exhausted her."

He let out a long breath. His hand covered mine, which was knotting itself into the sheets over and over again.

"The next day he was extremely volatile, but he still had to go to work. I was really lonely that day, and I thought that perhaps I could find something of my mother's to hold, or look at. I started in his bedroom, a place I'd never been. There wasn't much in there, so I went to his study. It wasn't locked; there aren't any locks on the doors in my home. It was like a playground to me. An entire library just sitting there, waiting to be read by a child who spent every hour of every day on her own, watching from the shadows."

A tear slipped down my cheek suddenly and I caught it with my left thumb. "I was really careful not to touch anything. I was just searching for something, anything of my mother's. I found a dusty box in the corner beneath a pile of old newspapers and whiskey bottles. I couldn't believe my luck. It was her books.

"I was so happy that I found them, so ecstatic to be able to read something my mother had read, to have something else we could share, that I lost track of time. He walked in on me sitting on the floor, her books spread out all around me. He flew into a kind of rage I'd never seen before. I've never been more scared than I was in that moment. He didn't look human."

George wasn't even breathing now, his attention focused completely on me.

"'What are you doing?' he yelled at me. 'What the hell do you think you're doing?'" I reenacted to the best of my ability but the tears were coming faster now, and my voice grew thick. "There was already a drink in his hand and it was thrown at my head, missing me by an inch. I remember the smell. Like old shoe polish. Then he grabbed me by the wrist and physically threw me from the room. When I tried to run away, he seized the same wrist and twisted it so I was facing him."

He looked more serious than I'd ever seen him, and alarmed, too. "Prudence, you don't have to continue, you can st-"

"'This is what you get for being a sneaky, conniving little _bitch_!'" I imitated. "His free hand slapped me and then he shoved me on the floor hard enough for me to crack my head. Then he went out, bought a lock for the study, and I didn't see him for three days."

"Merlin…" George murmured in horror, looking like he was going to be sick.

I shrugged. "It got better after that, for a little while anyway. He was so drunk the times that he was home that he didn't remember what had happened that night, and he mostly left me alone. _Then _I started showing signs of magic."

His brown eyes widened and I nodded. "Yeah. He couldn't figure out how a nine year old could get through the new security he'd placed on his study, let alone move an entire box full of hard-cover books upstairs to her bedroom."

"Was he angry?" George asked quietly.

I nodded. "Furious. But I got away. I ran to the pond, and my shoes turned into ice skates. That was the first time since my mother had been lucid that I'd gone there. I went back every day after that until it thawed too much to support my weight."

We were both quiet. There wasn't too much more I wanted to say, and George was analyzing the information in his head. "So when you rub your left wrist-"

"It acts up sometimes," I confirmed. "Usually when something reminds me of him, like the smell of alcohol, or when I'm really scared."

He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. "Please don't tell me you're sorry. I can only think of two people that need to extend their apologies. One is probably sleeping off his bender in his study and the other has rejoined her master."

By now my tears had ebbed, and my cheeks felt dry and itchy.

"You're staying here tonight," he decided suddenly.

"What? But we're not – we can't-" I grew incredibly flustered at the thought of us sleeping together, even in the most innocent sense.

George chuckled. "I can sleep in Lee's bed. I doubt he'll be back. He and Noel are probably already halfway to your dormitory, groping each other and passing the bottle back and forth."

I eyed the room uneasily as I pondered it. Sleeping in a room that, while familiar in the daytime, became an unknown entity as the sun went down was not in the plans I had made for myself today. I would be in the same room as three boys, one of whom was romantically involved with me.

"Prudence, I'm not trying to push you into anything, but I would feel better if you stayed. I don't want you to be on your own tonight."

I chewed on my lower lip, which was coated with salt from my tears. "You'll sleep in Lee's bed?"

"Promise," he said seriously, holding a hand over his heart.

And so after gargling mouth wash, flossing, dressing in a set of his pajamas and leaving my uniform out to be washed the by the house elves, I slid beneath his sheets which smelled of cinnamon and smoke. I felt odd but not uncomfortable as he leaned down and kissed first my forehead, then my nose, my cheeks, and finally my lips.

"Minty fresh," George joked. "I'm going down to let Fred know you're staying, and I might be a while depending on how pissed he is. We'll be quiet when we come back up, I swear."

I shuddered, a chill passing through me. "Good night," I murmured, pulling the covers up to my chin and turning onto my side.

"Good night," he answered.

The door clicked softly shut behind him. "I love you."

I was asleep before the sound of his footsteps faded.

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><p><strong>AN: Do I get bonus points for such a quick update? This is long, too! All thanks to being somewhere without wifi for two nights. What did you think of the conversation with Neville? Prudence's night with George? Did you have those same suspicions about her father, or did you think something different? Let me know!**

**UP NEXT: Hogsmeade, an interview, and an abundance of Umbridge. Stay tuned!**


	24. The Truth is Out There

**Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

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><p>I awoke the next morning to the sounds of heavy snoring. My surroundings were familiar, and yet I couldn't place a finger on my location. My vision was blurred by a layer of sleepiness which I rubbed from my eyes, and my nose was accosted by the scent of musk and soap.<p>

Oh yes. I was in Gryffindor Tower. In the seventh year boy's dormitory. In George's bed.

I sat bolt upright, nearly blacking out from the sudden rush of blood to my head and gingerly pulled back the hangings with one finger. To my right, Fred's mattress squeaked as he undoubtedly rolled around in a deep sleep. To my left, the hangings of Lee's bed was open, revealing George lying half off the mattress. His right leg grazed the floor and his T-shirt was twisted halfway around his torso.

Though I couldn't see Kenneth's end of the room, I assumed the snoring was coming from him and deemed it safe to get up. I used my wand to return the covers of the bed to the way they had been last night, then tiptoed to the bathroom to fix my appearance. A glance out the window showed me it was still dark, and dawn was just approaching.

I'd always been an early riser, and I was immensely grateful. The less people that saw me, the better. Hogwarts was a small school, and its students certainly liked to talk.

I sighed and observed myself in the toothpaste-coated mirror. My hair wasn't too messy, as I'd had to sense to plait it before I went to sleep, so I took it out and finger-combed it until it looked like I was just going for the "soft grunge look" as Noel put it. I splashed my face with cold water and used my wand to get rid of the wrinkles in my blouse, slipping out of the pajama bottoms George had loaned me and putting my skirt back on.

Returning to the dormitory, which was thankfully still quiet, I grabbed my shoes and scurried from the room. I remembered to hop over the creaky steps on the way down, holding my breath as I entered the common room. It was empty sans a fourth year who was dozing off in front of the fire and I very carefully walked behind the couches to exit into the corridor.

Though I was no longer technically breaking curfew, I still moved swiftly and softly down to the first floor. This was all very strange. I felt like Noel, wandering around the castle at all hours after spending a night with a boy Merlin knows where. Except George had tucked me in before moving across the room. Except he never once tried to convince me to do anything I wasn't ready for. Except he'd listened to all of my secrets with the greatest of attention, and insisted on me staying with him for the purest of reasons.

And yet I couldn't shake the feeling of guilt. What would Cedric have said, if he were here? But of course he wasn't here, because he was dead. No, stop it Prudence. I had the right to be happy. I had the right to have friends. I had the right to have…whatever it was that George and I did. Right?

But still, thoughts of Cedric stayed in the back of my mind, even as I opened the door to my dormitory to find Grace completely ransacking the place.

"YOU'RE A CRAZY BITCH!" Noel screamed. She and Lee were standing by her bed, the latter clad in nothing but a pair of boxers, while Grace tossed a pair of high heels at their heads. Noel dodged behind the bed post as Lee caught them and dropped them to the ground.

"Are you trying to kill us?" he cried.

Grace whirled around to face me, seething. "She put itching powder in every single one of my bras!"

I struggled to keep a straight face. "Erm, what?"

"And your knickers, can't forget those," Lee added unhelpfully.

"Grace, why do you think it was Noel? I mean, they were at the party all night and came back here to sleep." I hoped that logic could put an end to this. Several bottles of perfume had been smashed, leaving the room smelling like a flower shop.

She gritted her teeth and whipped her eye mask off of her head. "Who _else _would do something so cruel and childish?"

Noel let out a bark of laughter. "Are you even aware of how many people at this school hate you? Or are you so delusional that you still think everyone here is in love with you? Believe whatever you want, I'm just saying that I could care less about you. I wouldn't bother trying to torture you, because you're not worth my time."

Grace was quiet for a moment as her chest heaved, then all of a sudden a vial of something green came soaring at my head. I shrieked in surprise as I ducked, leaving the glass to explode above me and shower me in what I discovered was the face cream that she wore every night to soften her skin.

"YOU BETTER RUN, YOU NANCY LITTLE BITCH! IF YOU EVER TOUCH HER AGAIN I'LL KILL YOU!" Noel screamed at her as she fled the room, the door slamming shut behind her and rattling the windows.

I stood and looked down at the green muck that was pooling at my feet. "Well that was exciting."

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up," Noel muttered. "Bloody psycho."

Lee coughed. "Probably wouldn't be the best time to bring this up, but I'm pretty certain it was Fred who put the powder in her knickers. She made fun of Angelina the other day, called her a butch lesbian."

Both of us turned and fixed him with a cold stare. A glob of green goop dripped from my nose and landed on my shoe. Taking the hint, he snatched up his clothes and took off, still dressed in only his underwear. "See you ladies later!"

I unbuttoned my soiled blouse and began rinsing off my face and neck in the sink.

"So…you stayed overnight, huh?" Noel asked teasingly. It was alarming how quickly her mood changed.

I blushed. "It's not like that. He slept in Lee's bed, and I slept in his. There was no….any of that."

"What about touching? Groping? Hot and heavy panting? You had to have at least _snogged_." Noel scrubbed at my left arm.

I didn't answer, and her jaw dropped. "You did? Like, your real, first, honest-to-Merlin snog?"

Once again I remained silent, and she pinched the skin of my bicep until I surrendered. "Ouch, okay! That hurt, you've got talons instead of fingernails."

"Tell me or I'll get your arse next time," she threatened, snapping her thumb and forefinger together like a crab.

"He was just so nice to me today. I mean, he made my tea for me in the morning, like usual, and he held an umbrella over me for the entire quidditch match, and without me having to say anything he let me ride on his back when the crowd started to make me panic. Plus, he ditched the party to spend time with me because he knew I didn't want to be there." My mind replayed all of the moments of yesterday and a sense of glee welled in my stomach.

"It was kind of weird though…I mean, his tongue was all slimy and warm but it felt good? Obviously I have no experience with it but he seemed like a pretty top-notch snogger," I finished, a spectacular flush overtaking my cheeks.

Noel was smirking. "And what about his hands? Any over-the-bra action?"

"No!" I gasped. "His right hand was behind my head and his left hand was about…here." I gestured to my hip.

"All right, it was a very relaxed kiss. A slow one, right? So you weren't snogging like animals in heat, which is good. It means he wants more from you than just sex."

I groaned and walked back into the dormitory to grab a fresh sweater. "You're disgusting."

Noel fixed me with a serious look. "Prudence, if you can't talk about it like the mature adult that you are then perhaps you shouldn't be snogging him."

"I know, it's just so odd. I mean, before this year no one even looked at me. And the way that George was acting towards me made me feel so good. I just…needed to be closer to him." I blushed deeply as I spoke but managed to hold her gaze.

"_You _snogged _him?!"_ she shrieked, following me out of the loo and staring at me eagerly.

I shushed her, my entire face red. "Yes, and he was still asleep when I left. It's going to be so strange when I have to see him at breakfast. What do I do?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Honestly, be normal. He'll make your tea for you, Fred will make a stupid joke that makes Angelina angry, George and Lee will rag on him, we'll join in. That's all there is to it."

I nodded, opened my mouth to say something, then snapped it shut.

"What? Spit it out!" Noel barked.

"It's just…and I know you're going to want to slap me for saying this, but what about Cedric?" I winced as I waited for her reaction.

Immediately the playful grin on her face dropped. "We've been over this. You buried the charm. You've got George now."

"I can't help it though! I feel so guilty. Imagine what he would think if he were here. He would never find George good enough for me. He's not…_serious _enough." I collapsed onto my bed, my head hung.

Her voice was cold as she spoke. "Prudence, Cedric picked Cho over you. Don't pick a ghost over George. Just don't."

I didn't respond, just got up and returned to the loo to wash my face and finish changing. She was right, I knew she was. I had to stop denying the fact that when he'd gone into that maze, he was anticipating a celebratory night with Cho Chang, not me. George, on the other hand…

I swallowed the sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach and eyed the dove charm in the mirror. Cedric was dead. Even if he were alive, he wouldn't have wanted me. But he was still a good person, and he would've respected whatever made me happy because that was the kind of boy he was.

I repeated this mantra over and over in my head on the way to breakfast, barely listening to a word Noel said. He was the first thing I spotted when we made it to the Great Hall, and a smile spread across my face. Without another word to Noel, I walked over to George as quickly as I could, slid onto the bench, and threw my arms around his neck.

"Good morning to you too," he said in surprise, setting down his fork. His left hand was supporting the back of my head, lightly stroking my hair, and the other was flat against my back, his grip firm. "Everything okay?"

I tried to curb my embarrassment at the blatant display of affection and pretended no one else was in the room, placing my head on his shoulder and turning in to his neck. The familiar scent of smoke and cinnamon comforted me. "Yeah. I just wanted to say thanks."

George chuckled. "For what?"

"Being amazing," I murmured. I stayed a moment longer, enjoying the sense of security. I pulled back rather reluctantly and accepted my cup of tea from him with a smile of gratitude.

Lee was blinking at us. "Whatever you did mate, tell me! All Noel ever does is smack me and grope me, in that order."

"Oi!" Noel said as she slapped him across the back of the head.

"Guess you know what's coming later then," Lee said with a wolfish grin. "Ouch!"

I laughed and sipped my tea.

The rest of the week passed slowly, the Gryffindors still bitter from the loss and their hatred of Umbridge even stronger. Though the Hufflepuffs did not allow the massacre to linger, the Slytherins would not let their enemies forget, and so every time a team member wandered the halls a boy or girl with the snake emblem emblazoned upon their chest would reenact Angelina's beater-bat-to-the-face or Andrew Kirke's spectacular fall. The team was not pleased.

George and I remained amicable throughout the day, taking no part in displaying our romance to the rest of the school. We never held hands, never kissed in front of others. Perhaps he would purposely brush his arm against mine in class or beneath the Gryffindor table we would briefly clasp hands, but that was the extent of it.

The nights, however, were all ours. As soon as my work was done in the library or my prefect rounds were over, I would return to my dormitory to find him already there, perusing through one of my books or scribbling on some parchment that bore the new Weasley's Wizard Wheezes logo. I tried not to imagine what was being written, and instead chose to hunker down in his arms.

I was growing more and more comfortable with what was developing between us. Though he hadn't pushed me any further since the night of the match, and the kissing remained at a minimum, I'd become used to drifting off beside him, his thumb stroking the back of my hand, and waking up in the morning tucked under my covers with my shoes placed neatly beside my trunk.

I didn't know where he went afterwards. For a while, I assumed he went to his own dormitory to sleep, but in the mornings he was always slumped over the table, barely scraping together enough energy to pour himself some tea. If Fred wasn't acting the same way, I would be paranoid about foul play. As it was, I had a horrible feeling it had to do with their joke shop. The pair were becoming secretive, and even Lee didn't know what it was about, though he had a guess. With Umbridge and her "squad" taking over the school, the twins were making more and more comments about how pointless it was for them to be here.

To make matters worse, Gemma was completely ignoring me. I didn't know what I'd done, but whenever we shared classes or walked past one another, I no longer existed. She never left the sides of her roommates and I watched with a sickened heart as she started to warm up to Adrian Pucey. The only silver lining, however small, was that with exams looming I now had copious amounts of time to spend alone in the library reviewing, or drawing doodles of Madame Pince when my mind needed a break.

The only thing I had to look forward to was the impending Hogsmeade visit. Those who had not been banned by Umbridge for some offense or another were eagerly scrounging up dates and sickles to pay for said dates' drinks. George had asked me in private if I would like to go, and he was so sweet that I nearly forgave him for keeping things from me.

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Noel's question brought me out of my stupor as we stood in the Entrance Hall, waiting for George and Lee to arrive.

I laughed. "Honestly. They're probably primping each other."

"You know Lee, that black sweater really accentuates that physique," Noel spoke in her best George imitation.

Smirking, I kept the ball rolling. "Thanks! You know, I saw this in a store window and thought to myself, that sexy black sweater would look great on my sexy black self."

I felt two sets of arms drop onto my shoulders from behind, and both George and Lee's grinning faces appeared on either side of me.

"That was a pretty decent impression," the redhead started.

"But I would've used the word 'debonair' in place of 'sexy,' coz that's pretty shallow, don't you think?" Lee's eyebrows waggled through his joke, and Noel rolled her eyes and began to drag him along by his collar.

Her hair flowed behind her as her booted feet stalked across the stone. "We're late, come on."

"Oi, hang on a minute!" Lee cried out, and with a sigh he was released. "I haven't gotten to do this yet." And without further ado, his hands cupped her cheeks and drew her lips to his, their mouths molding to one another's in a spectacular show of affection. He snogged her like the world was ending, and I watched as Noel's stiff, confident posture crumbled into nothingness as she placed her hands behind his neck.

"There. A proper greeting for the most intelligent, stunning, flawless woman in my life," he said seriously, ignoring the catcalls from around the room. Then he snatched her hand in his. "Come on, we don't want to miss the carriages!"

As the two set off for the doors, I glanced up at George with a faux-stern gaze. "Well, now you know what you're up against."

He merely smiled and gestured for me to lead the way. I did so, turning around several times to find his gaze directed a bit lower than my waist.

"It's not my fault! Your hips sway when you walk and those pants…I swear you must have done some spell work there, because there's no way you would have found something to accentuate those fine, fine curves of yours so perfectly."

My cheeks lit up like a display of Filibuster Fireworks as I ignored his offer to help me down the front steps. "Shut up."

"As you wish," George replied, holding his hands up in surrender. He always managed to make such lewd comments sound like the sweetest compliments. If those words came from the mouth of anyone else I would have gone straight to Sprout with the request of a restraining order.

It was frigid outside in spite of it being nearly April. Scotland's warm weather had a very narrow window, and for much of that window we were back in England. "Noel, how are you not overcome with hypothermia?"

She was dressed only in a pair of slim black pants, a black sweater, and her overcoat which, while formfitting and flattering, could not retain much heat. She bore a gray cashmere scarf and matching gloves, but nothing on her head.

"Mind over matter, love," she said without turning to look back at me. She was much too focused on Lee, walking slightly ahead of her in order to nab a carriage.

I turned towards George. "Noel is totally in love with him, right?"

He smirked. "You know, I never would have imagined it, but Lee's certainly done a nice job of hiding his complete incompetence when it comes to women. She's looking at him like the sun shines out of his arse."

I grinned and leaned in closer to him as a gust of wind found its way to my skin in spite of the five layers I was wearing. Noel had never had a boy treat her as kindly as Lee. For a long time it was Dash, who forced her into a very submissive role in the relationship, and after that all she thought she wanted was sex. I was grateful for Lee. Noel could defend others no problem, but I'd noticed that she hardly ever stood up for herself. For six years I'd thought her to be the most arrogant, conceited, and vain person, but I was wrong.

"Sickle for your thoughts?" George asked as we made our way to the carriage that Lee had gotten.

"I was just thinking about how good he is for her," I said with a shrug, tugging my scarf up to cover my nose.

He grinned. "I'm sorry, what was that? I can barely even see a person under all that clothing."

Scowling, I pushed myself up to sit beside Fred. "It's bloody cold, okay?"

"I'm just teasing. You look adorable." Fred and George both pretended to yawn and stretched their arms out so they each had one wrapped around my shoulders.

"How cute," Noel said drily.

I wasn't complaining though. They were very warm.

After a brief, bumpy ride we made it into the village, and I was eager to get someplace with heat. "Where to?" I asked eagerly.

"Three Broomsticks?" Lee suggested. "If there are no tables we can just slip some third years a batch of Puking Pastilles and tell them it's taffy."

Noel laughed aloud. "You're horrible!"

"Oh yeah? You haven't seen anything yet!" And with that, Lee lunged for her, lifting her up in the air and spinning her around.

She shrieked and squealed in a carefree fashion I'd never seen before, kicking her legs out until he put her back on her feet. She then proceeded to punch him in the chest.

"Arsehole," she muttered, but her scarf was thin and couldn't hide her smile.

"Can we get out of the cold now?" I rubbed my gloved hands together and sped-walked towards the pub.

It was jam-packed, and George was just staring to slip the bag of pastilles out of his pocket when I spotted Alicia and Angelina at a table in the corner. "This way!"

I wrestled my way through the crowd, but just as I surpassed a table full of fourth and fifth year Ravenclaws, there was a whistle as a hand broke free from the group to smack my bum. I whirled around, my face bright red.

Fred grinned and leaned down between the two offenders, placing an arm around each. "Lads," he said in greeting, turning his head towards each of them in turn. "Demean her like that again, and I'll crack your skulls together so hard that they'll mush together and create one slightly less miniscule brain."

Lee and Noel roared with laughter and I had to fight a giggle myself. Their faces were priceless. They nodded eagerly, shooting embarrassed apologies towards me.

I rolled my eyes and finally settled down across from Alicia and Angelina. "If you can't even look me in the eye, you shouldn't be touching my bum for the love of Merlin," I complained in greeting.

"Fred certainly handled that well," Alicia said teasingly, her comment aimed toward her fellow chaser.

Angelina sighed and shook her head. "Stupid male Gryffindors and their pride. Only Neanderthals have to resort to threats of violence."

Noel and Lee filled the two seats between me and Alicia, while the twins went to the bar to order drinks.

"She's on this whole thing where she 'doesn't need a man.' I mean, it's great and all, but Fred's not going to wait around forever and we all know that they're meant to be together," Alicia stated matter-of-factly.

Angelina opened her mouth to retaliate, only to be interrupted by a large tray full of drinks to be unceremoniously dumped onto the table in front of her. "All right, so we've got 5 firewhiskeys, a butterbeer for George," Fred paused to give his brother an odd look, "and a gillywater for Prudence."

We all tossed in a few knuts and sickles for our drinks and grabbed our individual bottles.

I smiled at George, silently thanking him for choosing a non-alcoholic drink, and he squeezed my hand in reassurance. I didn't know how long we were in there for, drawing several dirty looks when either Lee or the twins made us roar in laughter. At one point, a stream of firewhiskey came shooting out of Alicia's nose, and she spent the next five minutes in complete agony until the burning sensation ended.

I was having so much fun that I hardly cared when Gemma showed up on Pucey's arm, and lost sight of them as George's fingers found the small of my back, gently rubbing circles with his thumb. I wasn't sure if he was purposely driving me crazy, but if he was aware of his actions he certainly didn't show it.

Sometimes his hand rested on my knee, the heat searing through the denim and sending tingles shooting up my spine. Occasionally he would explore the finer points of my hip as his arm wound around my waist. At one point, in a display of affection that we typically abstained from, he leaned over and planted a sweet but insistent kiss on my lips that left my head foggy and my ears red.

At last the group stood, about to break off into pairs while they shopped for their individual needs.

I hesitated for a moment, grabbing George's hand to prevent him from walking off after Lee and Noel. "I want to be alone," I mumbled, not meeting his eye.

"What?" he asked, his brow wrinkled in confusion.

I took a deep breath and used his shoulder to pull myself onto the tips of my toes, bringing my lips closer to his ear. "I want to be alone. Now."

His face went through a range of emotions, starting with baffled and ending with mischievous. "I think I know a place."

We clasped hands and ran through the cobblestone streets of Hogsmeade as best we could, avoiding patches of ice and jumping over puddles of muck. After a few moments we came to a lone, winding path where the only sounds were our panting breaths and the whistle of the wind through the trees.

"The Shrieking Shack?" I could hear the nerves in my voice, though I wasn't sure if it was from the location so much as what I had suggested.

His hand cupped my chin. "I know for a fact that it's not haunted. It just has a bad reputation. It's perfectly safe."

I remained silent as I stared up at the ramshackle building.

"Don't you trust me?" he asked, his tone serious.

Taking a deep breath, I gripped his hand tighter and began my way up the hill. "Come on."

It was dark and musty inside, the cold seeping in through the badly boarded up windows. Furniture was overturned and strewn about the room, the wood cracked and weather-beaten. The paper that had once been plastered on the walls was now peeling and curling, gravity taking its toll on the paisley pattern.

George came up from behind me, his arms wrapping around my waist. One hand slid up to my chin, turning my head toward his waiting lips, while the other swiftly undid the belt around my jacket. My wand dropped to the floor as his mouth molded against mine with a brash confidence he'd never shown before.

I twisted so I was facing him, tearing off my hat and gloves and tossing them aside so I could feel the heat from his chest as I placed my palms against it. He used his height to his advantage as he tilted my head back and deepened the kiss, his hands sliding beneath the cotton fabric of my sweater to clutch at my back. I arched into him and whimpered, the sound escaping me unexpectedly.

I froze, embarrassed, but it only seemed to urge him on as he dragged his lips from my mouth to my neck. I clawed at my scarf and yanked it off, trying to catch my breath as his teeth and tongue attacked the sensitive skin of my collarbone.

Then, all at once, the franticness faded. He softly pushed me up against the wall and kissed me once, slowly and gently, sucking the air right from my lungs. He kissed me again in the same fashion, almost lethargically. I was panting, clutching his shoulders so tightly I was surprised he wasn't in pain, desperately attempting to remain in control as his thumbs traced my cheekbones.

"George," I whispered, and his eyes fluttered open. "We should stop."

He nodded, placing one last kiss on my nose before drawing back. Without a word, he retrieved my scarf, hat, and gloves, rewrapping the wool around my neck and pulling me towards him.

"You," he began seriously, "are the most amazing woman I've ever met."

I coughed. "You sound like Lee."

He shrugged, smiling. "Are you all right?"

"Of course," I said, holding his hand in mine. "I'm with you."

He said nothing about my refusal to make eye contact with him and instead held the door open for me.

My breath hung in the air before me, the chill so intense that it seemed to freeze as it left my body. "I swear it's colder in there than it is out here."

"But I thought I just warmed you up," George said with a wink.

The flush on my cheeks was keeping my face heated, at the very least. We continued our banter as we headed for the carriages, my gloved hand clasped in his. We ended up riding back to the castle with Ginny, Luna, and Neville, the latter of whom was clutching a new book with a picture of a ginormous, lethal looking plant on it.

"No Michael, Ginny?" I inquired politely, eyeing George.

She made a face. "No, we broke up. He's busy with quidditch and charms club and I'm too busy with…well, not caring. Besides, I just want to do my own thing for a while."

"And by that you mean ogle Harry?" George asked with a smirk.

"Why does no one believe that I'm not an eleven year old girl with a creepy obsession anymore?" she muttered.

Luna smiled serenely, turning her head away from the woods she had been staring at dreamily. "I believe you, Ginny. The wrackspurts have been all over the castle lately, and they've been known to fly in your ears and sometimes affect your hormones. There was a man in Kent who divorced his wife of twenty years in order to move in with his male banker, left his kids and everything. People said he went insane but my daddy did an exposé on it and we both know it was wrackspurts."

I pinched George's palm between my fingers in an effort to remain stoic. "Really? That sounds…horrific."

"I know. One of his sons was in the middle of treatment for cancer, a nasty Muggle disease. But wrackspurts are powerful creatures, even if they are annoying. You should keep an eye out. I saw some near the owlery the other day," Luna spoke.

As much as I believed Luna to be a sweet girl, I never knew how to converse with her. I had a hard time with people as it was, let alone trying to speak about creatures too outrageous for even the magical world to believe in with sincerity. I was certainly glad when the carriage rolled to a stop outside the front steps, and breathed a sigh of relief as George, Ginny, Neville and I made our way to Gryffindor Tower, separating from her on the fourth floor.

"Greyfeather."

The Fat Lady swung open, revealing a mostly empty common room. With Umbridge here, everyone spent as much time away from Hogwarts as possible when they had the opportunity. She had completely taken over everything, inspecting classes, banning clubs and teams, and insulting students and professors alike. Not to mention her vile, Slytherin crusaders running around and docking points from every non-Pureblood for breathing.

"Do you want to hang out down here or up there?" George turned to me, removing his hat and gloves.

I did the same. "Erm…upstairs. I don't really want to have to deal with the rush when everyone comes back."

We waved goodbye to Ginny and Neville who had settled by the fire, both looking unhappily at a large stack of homework that was awaiting them on the coffee table, and set off up the creaky, carpeted steps.

The closer we got to the seventh landing, the more clear it became that the dormitory was already occupied by two very upset people.

"I just don't understand why you had to go off with him like that!" Lee cried, his voice fraught with confusion and frustration.

I could practically hear Noel's eye roll. "You realize I've been friends with Charles for like, ten years right? He lives five minutes away from me, and his dad works for my dad."

"But we were on a date! You don't just walk away from your boyfriend for another guy!"

George pulled a face. "He's got a point."

I got as close to the door as I dared, Noel's voice suddenly low. "You're not my boyfriend."

"What do you mean I'm not your bloody boyfriend? We spend all our time together, we don't snog anyone else, and we hold sodding hands in the corridors! Don't start with that Dash bollocks again," Lee warned.

"That Dash bollocks," she started, fury evident in her tone, "destroyed me. I've told you all that I care for you to know, but that shouldn't matter. I won't be bullied Lee, not by Dash and certainly not by you."

Noel was strong, a worthy opponent. All her life she'd been nothing more than a warm mouth with a tight bum. She'd been underestimated for so long, but not now. I was fully terrified of her and there was a solid, oak door between us.

"Get off your bloody high horse, Noel. We both know the real reason you won't commit to anything. You're just screwing around with me, waiting until something better comes along. Guess that something came today with a shiny Head Boy badge on his chest, ey?"

There was a slapping noise and both George and I cringed. "For your information Lee, you're the only guy who's ever made me feel like I was worth something. They all just wanted to get me in bed so they could brag to their friends; some of them even made bets about what I would and wouldn't do with them. But for the first time I felt appreciated, and I was actually happy. Too bad your insecurities ruined that."

Her heeled boots clacked across the floor and the two of us immediately sprinted back down the steps, though not in time for it to look inconspicuous.

"Prudence, can I have the dormitory to myself for a while?" she asked, biting her lip in an effort to hold back tears. She didn't even acknowledge the fact that we'd been listening to their entire argument.

"Yeah, 'course," I said softly. "Just let me know if you need anything." I reached out and clasped her forearm lightly as she passed by, watching her rush down the steps.

George sighed and shook his head. "Dammit, Lee."

* * *

><p>The next morning I could not rouse Noel from her bed, and found myself at breakfast without her. Lee was drowning his sorrows in syrup.<p>

I barely looked up as the owls swooped in to deposit letters and packages, until about fifty different parcels were dropped in front of Harry who looked up from his porridge in shock.

"Harry, this must be about the interview!" Hermione said in a hushed voice. "Go on, open them!"

Gingerly, he picked up a small, rolled piece of parchment and unfurled it. "Eurgh, it's got bogies on it or something!"

Harry tossed it aside, where it landed in Seamus Finnegan's eggs. He scowled and pointedly moved to the other side of Parvati Patil.

"Interview?" Fred queried.

Hermione turned to us triumphantly. "Harry got interviewed in Hogsmeade yesterday by Rita Skeeter. It was an answer to all the propaganda Fudge has been spreading about him."

"So it was about-" George was cut off by the arrival of Luna, who squeezed in between Ginny and I, her thick mane of blonde hair nearly suffocating me.

"Ooh, the story of You-Know-Who's return!" she said brightly. "Daddy was so excited about this that he had this edition printed up three days early!"

Everyone blinked. "Rita Skeeter interviewed you for the Quibbler?" Ginny asked blankly.

Harry nodded, still looking rather shocked. "Hermione blackmailed her."

She tried not to look pleased with herself as the twins congratulated her, patting her on the back and rubbing her shoulders.

"Well then, everyone get to opening!" Ron declared, and we all stretched out our hands towards the small mountain in front of us.

"This guy from Essex reckons you belong in the loony bin," I informed him.

George nodded. "This one as well, although he didn't put it that kindly."

"This one's positive!" Ginny said. "Oh wait…she was being sarcastic."

Harry muttered darkly under his breath and threw down yet another letter in defeat.

After several moments of this, there was a very familiar "hem, hem" from behind us.

"Mr. Potter, what is the meaning of this?" she asked, her voice sweet but her eyes threatening.

"Is opening mail a crime, Professor?" Fred responded, and Hermione actually gasped.

Umbridge smiled. "Detention, Mr. Weasley. Tomorrow night, after dinner."

George opened his mouth, but before he could say anything she cut him off. "And you as well, Mr. Weasley. Anyone else?"

We all glowered but kept quiet, the letters crumpled in our fists.

"Put the mail away or I will throw it out," she ordered. "And I'll be taking this, Miss Lovegood."

Luna shrugged calmly as Umbridge plucked her copy of the Quibbler out of her hands. "She was bound to read it eventually."

All of us turned to watch as she made it back to the High Table, settling down and primping herself before placing the paper down in front of her. Her eyes bulged at the headline, and she choked on her tea, her entire face going red.

"Everything all right, Professor?" McGonagall asked, looking like she didn't care in the least.

We could no longer contain our laughter. It ricocheted across the hall, drawing attention from all around the room, but I didn't care in the least. We were fighting back, and we were fighting back hard.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: A week and a half isn't THAT long, right? Please don't hate me! I hope the 6,300 words can make it up to you guys. What did you think of Prudence and George's date? Noel and Lee's fight? And what about Gemma, what's up with that? Leave your thoughts in a review!**

**UP NEXT: Trelawney is sacked, the seventh years have meetings with their Heads of Houses, and George tells Prudence a secret. Stay tuned!**


	25. Good vs Evil

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Noel?" I rapped lightly on the door to our dormitory, opening it quietly. The room was dark and her hangings were drawn.<p>

She didn't answer.

Gingerly, I walked over to her bed and pulled back the curtains. "Hey, how are you feeling?" There was once again no response as she stared at me blankly. "Turns out yesterday Harry had Rita Skeeter interview him for his side of the story. It talked about everything that started last spring and how You-Know-Who is really back."

I sat on the edge of my bed, watching her carefully. "Umbridge just about had a cow. She gave Fred and George detention. She also banned the Quibbler from school grounds, oh yes, I forgot to mention the interview was published by Luna's father, and for once everyone is reading it. I'm so glad, it must be great for their business."

"I'm a fuck up." Her voice was thick, as though she'd been crying all day, although her countenance remained passive.

I sighed and moved so I was on her bed. "No, you're not. I understand how things from your past can completely take over and invade your life. How they can keep you from doing what makes you happy. How frustrating it is when no one understands or has the patience."

"That's it, that's what I don't get. Lee tells me all the time that he loves me and that he'll never hurt me or leave me but he doesn't seem to actually get why I can't be his sodding girlfriend. He promised a month ago that he would be okay with us being exclusive but non-official. I mean, he gets all the coupley-stuff without the actual title. I let him acknowledge me in public now. I just-"

She cut herself off as a few tears dripped down her cheeks. I sighed and handed her a tissue from the small table beside her bed. "Noel, what happened yesterday? I've never heard Lee yell like that."

Noel suddenly got smaller, shrinking beneath her sheets. "I freaked out okay? We went to Gladrag's so I could get my black cloak dry-cleaned, and when Lee went to go look at some socks, the shop worker told me that we were 'adorable together,' and that Lee was 'a real keeper.' She even talked about how handsome our kids will be. I mean, kids? I already almost had one, thanks, and I don't even know if I ever want any."

"Noel-" I started.

"But that's the thing. Lee does, he's said so. He wants a little girl so badly, and at least two boys to mess around with, teach them how to fly and do magic tricks and the like. And so I started thinking, I like him a lot, and he loves me, but what if we're not right for each other? We'll never work out in the end because we want different things." Her voice was void of any emotion, as though she'd been replaying this exact wording in her head all day.

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I wasn't sure of what to say, so I remained silent for a moment while I pondered it. "I think you guys should talk. He didn't know what was going on in your mind, and I'm sure that if he did he would understand."

"Would he understand me walking back up to the castle with Charles Goldstein?"

My brow furrowed. "What?"

Noel gave a rueful smile. "Lee knew I'd gotten into a mood after I dropped off my robes, and when he tried to cheer me up by buying me candy at Honeydukes, I completely snapped at him and told him to leave me alone. I saw Charles was heading back up the path, so I ran to catch up with him. I knew how horrible a thing it was to do so I went to his dormitory to wait for him so I could apologize, but he lost it."

Once again I had no idea what to say, and she took my muteness as an indication of frustration. "I know. He'll never forgive me because he has absolutely no reason to. I've ruined everything. Can you just leave me alone, please? I want to be alone."

I sighed as I got up from her bed, and she pulled the hangings around her with such force that they nearly tore loose. I picked my bag up off of the floor and headed for the library with the intent of getting some more work done before dinner, when I bumped into Gemma, who was coming out of the kitchens.

"Sorry," I muttered, stepping backwards as quickly as I could.

She readjusted the parcels of food in her arms. "It's fine."

I remained for a beat longer, observing the dark circles beneath her eyes until I shook my head and moved past her.

"Prudence, wait!" she called.

Reluctantly I turned, waiting for an explanation. "What?"

Gemma shifted uncomfortably. "I can't tell you why but…there's a reason for the way I've been acting. A really good one. I promise."

"Well that promise doesn't really do me any good, does it? Not with you snuggling up to Pucey every night. You might as well be climbing into bed with a Death Eater. Sooner or later that's what he'll become," I said with a shrug.

Gemma's pale green eyes, perfectly outlined in black kohl, flashed. "You don't get it."

"Does Andrew 'get it?'" I retorted. It was incredibly catty of me, almost Grace-level.

Her mouth was opened in an unasked question. She seemed to change her mind several times before settling on, "were you the one who was in the Slytherin common room that night?"

My mouth set in a firm line. "Yes, to get information to help Dumbledore. As opposed to you, who seems to only be getting in his way. We're on different sides, Gemma. Face it."

And with that, I walked away. I'd never had much in me for confrontation, and I'd grown exhausted throughout our conversation. My body hated fighting, both verbally and physically.

When I entered the library I internally let out a sigh of relief. The presence of learning and the scent of books calmed me as I squeezed myself into a table towards the back, the only empty one in the room. It was unfortunately next to Martin, Terrence, and Patrick, but I simply ignored them as I dragged my Herbology textbook out of my bag.

"Yeah, Grace says she's down again," Patrick said, his voice disinterested. "But she's not at her record yet. Only been two days."

Martin glanced up at his friend over his quill. "Do you guys remember that time in fifth year when she holed herself up for a week?"

Terrence snorted. "Yeah, and we had to bring all her homework to her."

I flipped a page so it looked like I was focused on the reading, but my mind flashed back to about a month before OWLs. This would have been around the time she found out she was pregnant. She said she'd gotten the abortion over the summer… I remembered being annoyed with her, assuming she was upset over something pointless like her pair of boots that Grace accidentally ruined. I was so oblivious.

"Dude, I think she's seriously bipolar. My cousin has it, and she gets ridiculous too. Personally I think it's an attention thing, but my mom…"

Patrick's voice faded as I hurriedly gathered my things. Bipolar disorder, why hadn't I thought of it before? There were days when she was so content, just over-the-moon happy, and she laughed at every single one of Lee's jokes, even if they were aimed at her. But I had noticed times where she was moody, where nothing seemed to make her smile and she was so lost in her own thoughts that she wasn't aware of anything around her.

I stood hastily, garnering looks from them, but I passed them without a second glance to get to the small section of the library where we kept the books about Muggle diseases. I'd briefly spent some time in there in my fifth year, when I'd been trying to study so I could get the internship at my father's hospital.

After several minutes of searching, I managed to find a thick, dust-covered tome about mental diseases and disorders. I scrolled through the index, my finger creating tracks in the filth as I scanned the page.

"Got it," I whispered to myself, flipping to page 376 and nearly choking on the grime that filled my lungs.

_Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, and activity levels. _

I made a face. So far, so good. This sounded like Noel; one minute she was hot and the other she was cold.

_Symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. People with this disease experience unusually intense emotional states that occur in distinct periods called, "mood episodes." An overly joyful state is called a manic episode, and an extremely upset state is called a depressive episode. _

I frowned. The depressive episode certainly seemed to be like Noel, especially with the way she was lying about in bed, but I didn't know what they deemed to be 'overly joyful.' I would have to research it more. Carefully, I covered the title on the spine of the book with my hand as I brought it to the front desk.

Madame Pince eyed me suspiciously as she handed me a slip of parchment with the due date on it, in spite of the fact that not once in seven years had I ever been late returning a book. I waited until I was out in the corridor before putting it in my bag. I supposed I should take care in reading more of it over the next few days, especially if Noel still couldn't be roused from bed.

With a sigh, I set off for Gryffindor Tower. I'd told George that I'd come up before dinner, so I could "help" him with our Transfiguration homework, when I knew he would spend the time trying to seduce me into giving him the answers. It usually worked.

I turned the corner and stepped onto the staircase absentmindedly, still thinking about the information I'd just learned. I was halfway up when it changed course, jarring me from my thoughts as it floated in the air to deposit me on the left wing of the sixth floor. Standing there waiting for me, their arms folded across their broad chests, were Montague and Lazenby.

My stomach flipped, but I simply grasped my wand tighter and swallowed the fear that was rising in my chest. There were other students milling around. Surely they wouldn't dare harm me in the public eye.

"Hey Montague, do you know what I like to hunt?" Lazenby asked his cohort, though his black eyes rested on me.

Montague smirked. "What's that?"

My heart stopped for a moment as Lazenby's countenance morphed, his expression deadly serious. "Half-breeds," he spat hatefully.

I moved steadily to the top of the staircase, forced myself to look right at them before I shoved them apart, stepping past. Adrenaline was pounding through my veins as I remembered what had happened the last time my back was turned to Montague.

I tried to keep my pace steady, not wanting it to look like I was rushing away in fear even though I was. As soon as I rounded the corner, I paused to catch my breath, which has escaped me the moment I'd set eyes on them.

With a shake of my head, I continued on my way, walking decidedly faster than usual and not stopping until I came to Gryffindor Tower. I stated the password and, as usual, the Fat Lady eyed my robes colors suspiciously before swinging open and grudgingly allowing me entrance.

"Prudence! Over here!"

I looked over to see Ginny sitting by the fire with Neville, Seamus, Dean, and one of her roommates whose name I did not know. As I wandered over I received several other greetings from Angelina, Hermione, and even Colin Creevey, a fourth year who could usually be seen wielding a camera half the size of him.

Pleased and non-plussed, I waved upon my approach. "Hey guys."

"Hey," Dean said with a nod, glancing up from the airplane he was making out of scrap parchment. Seamus murmured a hello, frantically flipping through a textbook.

"He forgot about our Herbology essay due tomorrow," Neville said in explanation.

I made a noise of sympathy. "Did you need something, Ginny?"

The redhead shrugged. "Well, today I was in the loo on the third floor by the library when I heard a group of girls gossiping about you and George. One of them was your complete cow of a roommate, Grace, sorry if you actually like her. Anyway, one of them, some Ravenclaw bint, was saying a bunch of rude stuff about you, and another was talking about how he must not actually like you if the two of you aren't "official." And then they all argued about whether or not you were actually dating."

"Oh." I blinked, my cheeks flushed. "I didn't know I was interesting enough to be gossiped about."

"Don't worry about it," Ginny said with a wave of her hand. "I told them off and called them all dim-witted dungheads, said maybe if they focused on school work as much as they did on slander then they would actually get graded higher than a T. I just thought you should know."

We all roared with laughter. Dean wiped tears out of his eyes, and Neville and I exchanged a grin.

"Thanks for that, really. I don't like Grace, I actually despise her. Her life's purpose is to make me and Noel's lives hell." I wrinkled my nose as I thought about how she'd locked me out of the bathroom for an hour this morning, so I'd been unable to wash my face or brush my teeth before breakfast.

"She seems super uppity," Seamus commented, still flipping away. "Real snob."

I shook my head and bid them all a good night as I made my way towards George's dormitory. I didn't like to gossip, even if it was about Grace, but I secretly felt validated by the way they were judging her. Hiding a grin, I rapped on the door, waited for thirty seconds, and opened it.

Kenneth was there, organizing his socks and underwear in his trunk, but I ignored him. George took one look at me and stood, opening his arms. I folded into them and inhaled the scent of cinnamon and smoke I'd become accustomed to, enjoying how comfortable I'd gotten around him.

"What's wrong, love?" George pulled back slightly so he could look at me, his hands sliding up my back and over my shoulders until his thumbs rested on my cheekbones, stroking them.

I sighed. "Everyone."

"Everyone is wrong?" His lips twitched and I lightly elbowed him.

I moved away to settle myself on his bed. We both still ignored Kenneth, who was now smelling each set of knickers before folding and putting them away. "Noel is still lying in bed and she talked to me for all of two minutes before she kicked me out. Gemma copped some excuse as to why she started ignoring me in favor of Pucey and the other Slytherins. Grace is…well, Grace. And then Montague and Lazenby-"

"Montague and Lazenby?" George interrupted, his brown eyes going stormy. "What did they do?"

"Nothing," I assured him. "Well, physically." I proceeded to recount the episode from the stairwell, and Lazenby's threatening comment, adding in my confusion of why they'd let me pass without further incident.

George frowned. "They're probably trying to psych you out. Prudence, you need to be careful. Fred and I can sneak around with the best of them but Slytherins are on a whole new level."

I tried to bite back my retort but I was too tired to contain my fury. "I know I have to be careful. I've been tiptoeing around this bloody castle since before Christmas but I can't go _everywhere _with a bodyguard, and I shouldn't have to. This is Hogwarts, not Azkaban! Everyone should feel safe here. And thanks to Voldemort, we're all living in constant fear!"

The room grew silent. Fred, who had apparently been in the loo, turned off the sink. Kenneth dropped the bundle of socks he'd been holding, and one pair rolled under his bed. George was staring at me like I'd sprouted a third arm.

"…what?" I asked self-consciously, my fingers nervously twisting into the sheets of their own accord.

"You just said his name," George said in awe.

The moisture seemed to evaporate from my mouth, and suddenly, my lips felt foreign. "I-I did, didn't I?"

Kenneth scrambled after his sock, tossed everything into his trunk, and slammed it shut. "Everyone thinks they're so brave, saying his name. But you should know, most people that say it wind up dead."

And with that, he stormed from the room, leaving the smell of must and hair product in his wake.

"Don't listen to him," Fred said angrily as he entered the dormitory. "He's a cowardly little git. I have no idea how he made it into Gryffindor."

"Yeah…" I murmured, allowing George to pull me into his arms as he reclined against the headboard, though I wasn't listening. Kenneth was right, of course, just look at my mother. If I were going to join the Order after graduation and be on Dumbledore's side, my life would be in constant danger, a more serious breed than the threat I was facing right now with Montague and Lazenby. Was I ready for that?

Two hours later, after I could not feign interest in their newest products any longer, George insisted on escorting me back to my common room under the guise that he wanted to grab a snack from the kitchens. Even in the mind-wandering state I was in, I easily picked out the lie.

George being so worried about an attack should have made me worried, but for some reason the Slytherins were far from my mind. I kept replaying the moment I'd said his name over and over, recalling the way my tongue had felt as it rolled between the 'L' and the 'D.'

"And it's clear you're paying absolutely no attention whatsoever," George said, and I glanced up at him, startled.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

He sighed and shook his head, but the corners of his mouth were turned upwards. "I said, 'we're here.' It's a good thing you're so adorable, otherwise I'd totally kick your arse right now."

I managed a laugh as he bent down and swiftly pecked me on my forehead, nose, cheeks, and finally my lips. He drew the last one out, taking me by complete surprise and making my stomach swirl. "Good night, love."

"Good night, George," I responded, climbing into the tunnel happily as he wandered off down the corridor, going the opposite direction of the kitchens.

When I entered the dormitory, it was exactly as I'd left it. With a sigh, I lit a few candles and went into the bathroom to ready for bed.

"Oh, you are _not _still in there," I heard, and I rushed to the doorway to see Grace standing in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips, looking furious.

I frowned. "Grace, you've got to give her-"

"Butt out, Prudence. You're _clearly _too incompetent to deal with this situation, and she's been dragging down my mood for long enough." And with that, she stalked over to Noel's bed, ripped apart the hangings, and disappeared.

Gobsmacked, I went about the rest of my nighttime routine, straining my ears to try and hear what Grace was saying to her. Not more than two minutes later, the curtains were pulled aside again, this time both Grace and a bedraggled looking Noel emerging.

"I'm going to go shower," the latter mumbled, her feet shuffling along the floor. And soon after, I heard the water running.

I blinked. "Er, thanks, Grace."

The blonde sniffed and eyed me with distaste. "I didn't do it for you, Prudence. She was messing up my aura, and honestly I was just sick of her constant attention-seeking."

"Right," I muttered, trying to hide my sarcasm. She sneered, grabbed a magazine off of her desk, and fled the room.

The next morning I found myself seated beside Noel in Charms class, against the wall in the second row. Charles Goldstein gave us an odd look, as we were occupying his usual desk, but shrugged and moved to sit beside Martin.

"You know, I've never been a fan of Skeeter, but she actually sounds like a journalist here," Noel remarked, flipping the page. She was reading Harry's interview for the first time, after she had placed a spell on it so that to a stranger's eye it appeared to be a copy of Witch Weekly.

I murmured in agreement, resting my chin in my hand as I glanced back sadly to where George was sitting. He grinned and winked at me as he, Lee, and Fred competed to see who could transfigure their quills into the most things in thirty seconds. A teacup, the Scottish flag, a giant lady bug, and an old boot were among the items on their desk.

As Flitwick entered, he waved his wand and everything disappeared, although none of them looked particularly put out. Fred grinned apologetically at the professor, who shook his head.

"An inappropriate but impressive display of magic boys, but next time save it for your leisure," he said, and the three gave him a salute. "And welcome back, Miss Dalton, I trust you're feeling better."

Noel nodded politely and folded the newspaper, slipping it into her bag. "Thank you, professor."

I hadn't spoken to George yet today, and I turned away from him reluctantly. Out of solidarity for my roommate, Noel and I had eaten breakfast in the kitchens and gone straight to class. It was completely pathetic, but I missed him, even though he was only three rows away.

As Flitwick climbed onto his stack of books to start his lecture, a slew of words appeared on the parchment in front of me.

_Missed you at breakfast, _it read._ Lee drank your tea._

Casually sliding my left arm across it so Noel couldn't read it, I wrote back.

**I missed you too. First time I had to make my own cup in weeks.**

I looked over my shoulder to see him smiling down at my note.

_Want to come over later, watch us test out our Zit Zapper kit?_

**I wish,** I scrawled back, pretending to carefully take notes on the Color-Change Charm Flitwick was demonstrating. **Have to keep Noel from cocooning herself back in her bed.**

I tossed him a sad smile, and he winked before bending over his parchment.

_Not to fear my love, all in good time._

Without a clue what he was talking about, I sighed and finally tuned in to the lecture. I needed to stop acting like a love-sick puppy or I would never pass my Healer's Entrance Exam.

The rest of the class passed slowly, as usual. For once I gave Flitwick my full attention, because usually I was trying not to laugh as Fred charmed Jennifer Mickelson's hair to do the cancan, or else I was slapping George's hand away from my knee. It was awful, but I much preferred that to sitting stoically beside Noel, who was creating a rather detailed doodle of Lee falling off the Astronomy Tower while being impaled by a flying narwhal.

After Charms, we trekked to Astronomy, another class the five of us all shared, where we once again remained segregated. We sat beside Angelina, who was scribbling down quidditch plays in between various glances through her telescope, and Alicia, who was too busy flirting with Harold Cornfoot, who, in spite of his name, was actually handsome, to do her work.

Noel didn't speak much, even though Sinistra had no rules against talking while observing the bright, afternoon sky. I'd always liked Astronomy. There was hardly any lecture. We simply gazed at the sky two afternoons a week, and met every Wednesday at midnight to chart the planets and constellations. It was all very simple, and actually enjoyable.

Fred and George were taking advantage of the relaxed atmosphere by placing black goop along various students' telescopes, so that when they leaned in, their eye would be rimmed in gunk. I exchanged a grin with them, but made sure to keep watch over my telescope at all times. When we were finished, Noel and I followed the flow of students to the Great Hall. She'd agreed to eat with the rest of the school, but only if we remained at our own house table.

It was certainly odd eating with the Hufflepuffs. Neither of us had sat here in quite some time, and we garnered many curious looks. Grace scoffed as she walked past, but when Martin entered and moved towards the center of the table, he told us, "welcome back."

"Do you think Lee was the right person for me?" Noel asked suddenly, the sound of her voice startling me.

"Oh," I said, blinking. "Er, I'm not sure to be quite honest with you."

She pursed her lips and let the tomato soup on her spoon fall back into the bowl. "I mean, if he was, then I mucked things up horribly. But if he's not, maybe I shouldn't be wasting my time on him."

I tried to contain the skeptical expression that was forming on my face. Noel had always been so vocally against love and 'the one' and all that, claiming it was a farce. But here she was debating whether or not she'd already found her soul mate.

"If Lee could get you thinking something as serious as that, then perhaps he was a better match for you than you thought," I said delicately, popping a bite of shepherd's pie into my mouth.

She looked forlornly down at her lunch, and I found I had nothing to say. We finished our meals in silence.

When the hour was nearly up, we both stood and grabbed our bags, about to head off to Muggle Studies. This afternoon, we had no shared classes with Lee or the twins, a fact which surely excited Noel and made me feel miserable. Noel was my friend, but right now she was acting, in my opinion, a little childishly, and I missed my other friends.

As we were about the go up the main staircase, I saw a glimpse of red hair in the crowd and looked back to see George walking casually towards the kitchens, away from the throng of students heading to class.

"You know what?" I said to Noel. "I'm actually still hungry. I'm going to run to the kitchens and get an apple or something. I'll meet you there."

Frowning but too busy brooding over her misfortune to care, Noel shrugged and continued up the stairs to the fifth floor.

Feeling rather giddy, I expertly weaved through the robes of emerald, scarlet, blue and yellow until I broke free on the other side of the hall. I didn't know where he'd gone, and I was just about to tickle the pair and see if he had actually gone into the kitchens when I was grabbed around the waist from behind.

I squealed in a very unPrudence-like way and was whirled around in the air before being pressed against the cold, stone wall.

"George," I said breathlessly, "a simple hello would have done it."

Smirking, his lips attacked my own without a warning, and my eyes fluttered shut as his right hand pulled gently at my hair until my head was tilted back enough for him to deepen the kiss. "Hello," he whispered, less than a centimeter of space between our mouths.

I gasped for air as his fingers deftly pushed aside my robe and satchel to display the skin of my collarbone, which George traced patterns on lightly with an open mouth, his tongue swiping out every so often and making me weak in the knees.

"We're going to be late," I managed, fighting for control. His hands had found their way inside my robes and were resting dangerously low on my hips. The thumb of his right hand slipped beneath my sweater and gently rubbed the bare skin of my back, the juxtaposition of his gentle touch and the roughness of the callouses on his fingertips making me shiver.

"We've got nearly fifteen minutes. I would never make you late for class. I'm not important enough for that," he said seriously, his brown eyes switching back and forth between my hazel. I smiled and grasped his hands, still occupying my waist, in my own. Even while caught up in hormones, he held respect for me and my studies, and that made me exceedingly happy.

I rubbed my lips together for a moment while I pondered it, then reached my hands out, grabbing him by the knot of his tie. "Five more minutes then."

He responded enthusiastically, flipping us so he was against the wall. I stood on my tiptoes, allowing his arm to wrap around my waist and support me while I tentatively kissed him behind his left ear. His grip tightened and my confidence grew, so I planted another one just below the lobe, and then another one in the hollow between his neck and shoulder.

"Who taught you that move?" he asked in amusement, his voice thick enough to let me know he was very clearly affected by my actions.

I laughed softly, sliding my hands over his biceps. "You did."

"Oh, that's right," George spoke enthusiastically. "If I recall it went something like this."

However, his recollection became null as all noise coming from the Entrance Hall ceased.

"You-you can't do this!" a voice trembled, and we exchanged a look. Without another word, the two of us flew back down the corridor to find ourselves completed immersed in a crowd of students, all of whom were directing their attention to a shaking woman who stood in the center, a trunk lying at her feet with several gauzy shawls poking out.

As I turned my gaze towards where the woman was pleading, I quickly assessed the situation.

"She's-she's firing Trelawney!" I whispered to George furiously.

His brows knitted as he looked to where the overly-primped Ministry worker was standing. "She can't do that, can she?"

"Please," Trelawney sobbed. "Please, Hogwarts is my home." She tried to move towards the staircase that Umbridge was standing at the top of, but tripped on a box at her feet. The sound of sherry bottles clinking together was not enough to cover up the giggles of the cluster of green that was standing off to the side and looking smug.

Several of the Divination professor's younger students stood on the outskirts of the circle, clutching each other and crying.

"Not anymore," Umbridge declared triumphantly. "If you think after that horrible assessment that I would allow you to remain here teaching our students, then you're even more deluded than I initially believed."

The Slytherins hooted with laughter. Gemma was among them, although she did not smile.

"Sixteen years," Trelawney cried, her eyes wild. "Sixteen years I've been here, you can't just-"

But Umbridge just smiled. "Actually, I can," she said sweetly as she withdrew a slip of parchment from her robes pocket. Even from down here I could see the crest of Minister Fudge upon it.

Furiously, I clenched my fists. I was no fan of the Divination professor, and as soon as I'd gotten my OWL over with I had very happily dropped the course from the schedule, but the way that Umbridge was treating her made me so angry that I swore I was seeing red. No one was superior to anyone else. Not a single being. All these Slytherins breeded such hatred that they were destroying the wizarding world, starting right here at our school-

My thoughts put on hold as a hush came over the crowd. The sea of students who had gotten caught on the staircase between Umbridge and Trelawney parted to reveal Dumbledore, who walked down the steps very calmly as though he wasn't currently the focus of the entire school.

"Yes!" I whispered victoriously, and George planted a kiss on the top of my head affectionately.

"What is the meaning of this?" the Headmaster asked. Though his movements were controlled, his voice sounded stormy and echoed off of the walls to make him seem even more powerful.

Umbridge licked her lips eagerly and handed him the slip of parchment. "See for yourself."

Slowly, Dumbledore unraveled the scroll and scanned it, before serenely folding it and handing it back to her. "I see. The Minister of Magic has signed an appeal to have Professor Trelawney fired."

"That's right Dumbledore, and she'll be gone before-"

He cut the goading woman off, just a hint of anger evident behind his half-moon spectacles. "You have permission to dismiss my staff members from teaching," he started, "but you no more have the right to banish her from the grounds than I do to rule the country."

The smirk dropped from her face and was replaced with an ugly scowl. "But you can't-"

"The power to send a staff member or student off of the grounds of Hogwarts remains solely with the Headmaster of the school," was all he said.

Slowly, Umbridge processed the information. Then a smile spread slowly across her jowl-like cheeks. "For now."

And with that, she swept from the hall, her heels clacking against the stone flooring.

"Professor McGonagall, if you could escort Sybill back to her sleeping quarters," Dumbledore spoke, and then he too was gone, lost in the crowd of students who had resumed their gossip in tenfold, no one seeming very eager to head to class.

McGonagall stepped forth from the mob to wrap an arm around the shaking woman, and the two set off for the Divination Tower. Flitwick followed behind, her belongings floating through the air and causing several students to scramble out of the way.

George turned to me. "Well," he started. "I guess I have a free period now."

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><p><strong>AN: Hello everyone, thanks so much for reading, and thank you so much for EIGHTEEN THOUSAND READS! It's crazy to me that something from my own mind has been viewed all over the world, you guys are honestly the best3 What did you think of Noel's explanation? The confrontation between Montague, Lazenby, and Prudence? Were you all totally in love with George, or was that just me? Let me know!**

**UP NEXT:** **The DA cuts and runs, Prudence's worst nightmares are confirmed, and Lee and Noel get serious...ly pissed off. Stay tuned!**


	26. The Takeover

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

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><p>Moving as quickly as I could through the swarm of students shuffling through the corridor, I made my way to the bathroom across from the Great Hall, the loo that no one, not even the professors, wanted to enter. Naturally, this was where George wanted to meet.<p>

I slipped through the door quietly, peering around the corner.

"She's not here," George said with a chuckle, though strain was evident in his voice. "She must be haunting one of the other bathrooms."

I gave a sigh of relief and made my way toward him, digging a small vial out of my bag as I went. "Thank Merlin. There's something about Myrtle that just makes me so…so…"

"Suicidal?" he suggested.

I glared at him, dumping the potion into a bowl that was set on the sink counter. "Sad. Suicide is nothing to joke about, George."

His eyes fluttered shut in evident relief as he dropped his hand into the Murtlap. "You're right, I'm sorry love. I get inappropriate when I'm stressed."

The angry expression melted off my face. "Let me look at it."

Gently, I lifted his hand slightly out of the green solution and examined it in the bright lighting. George had been in detention with Umbridge so frequently that I could no longer tell what the words said. It was a jumble of raw, swollen, bloody scarring.

"George…" I let his hand fall back into the bowl but threw my arms around his neck.

He used his free hand to stroke the back of my head, his fingers lightly massaging my scalp. "I need to talk to you tonight. You either need to tame the redheaded dragon or I will. And no, I'm not talking about my mother."

My face still buried in his neck, I ignored his joke and sighed. I knew I needed to talk to Noel, let her know that she couldn't keep isolating herself and glaring at me if I so much as glanced in George's direction. She was controlling me like she was a dictator, and George wouldn't put up with it much longer. It would be best if I were the one to take care of the situation.

However…whatever he was going to tell me tonight, I knew it would be bad news. Umbridge had completely taken over the school. Her open defiance of Dumbledore in the Entrance Hall had changed the school's perception of its leader. While there were a few who had now switched over to our Headmaster's side, Seamus Finnegan included, many others believed Umbridge to be in the right. Trelawney was a terrible teacher, and a waste of resources. Not to mention, the fact that Dumbledore could not or did not care to try and control her didn't leave him with much credit. Hogwarts had flipped, and the Slytherins were running rampant, putting everyone, especially Muggleborns and Gryffindors, into detention at the drop of a hat.

Fred and George were in consistent bad moods, which was very unusual for them. Umbridge now seemed to have a personal vendetta against them, and the pair were writing lines with her "special quills" at least three times a week. They couldn't even get their frustrations out by playing quidditch, as their brooms were locked away in the dungeons. To top it off, Montague was now docking points off of them every day for one infraction or another, and they couldn't do anything about it because Umbridge was making Educational Decrees, it seemed, just to spite them.

"I know," I murmured, my stomach clenching in dread. "I will. I'll be there tonight."

George pulled back slightly so he could see my face, his fingers wandering seemingly of their own accord through my hair. "She needs to stop acting like we're delinquents. I mean, it's not a crime for me to miss my girlfriend, is it?"

I froze. That was the first time either of us had acknowledged our newfound relationship out loud. I suppressed the intense urge that rose in my body to wrap my arms around his neck and suction his lips to mine, blushing at the inappropriate thought. "No, it's not."

We smiled softly at each other for a moment, until I reluctantly withdrew. I had only moments to get to the second floor for Muggle Studies. "I'll see you tonight, I promise."

"All right," he said, allowing me to pull back and gather my robes and satchel, which I'd dropped in my rush to get to him. "Ah ah ah, hold on."

I rolled my eyes as he planted a kiss atop my head, even though I secretly loved when he did that. It made me feel like a silly school girl, but I decided to ignore it. I would allow myself this guilty pleasure.

"Now you may go," George conceded, and I stuck my tongue out at him before I raced out the door.

All day I watched my step, keeping quiet and merely nodding whenever Noel spoke to me. I allowed her to complain about the essay Burbage had assigned us, let her tell me how to properly brew a Tongue-Swelling Solution even though I'd known how to do it for three years, and even murmured in agreement when she began to rant about Grace, who had practically been in Martin's lap during lunch.

Finally, after Herbology was over and the day was through, I tried to gently broach the subject with Noel, which seemed to leave her in the best mood out of all our classes. "So I was thinking I might go up to Gryffindor Tower tonight."

Immediately her expertly made-up face puckered. "Why?"

I tried not to let my frustration show. "Because I want to see George. I shouldn't have to ask your permission to see my own boyfriend."

"Your what?" Noel asked, looking like she was fighting the urge to laugh.

I frowned. "You're being a terrible friend. I understand how badly you feel about what happened with Lee, but you've been acting like a right chit trying to control me and my life. I'm trying to be supportive but you're making it extremely hard. To be perfectly honest, the amount of times I've thought about strangling you is about on par with Umbridge."

I held my breath as Noel raised a brow, turning away from me to stare up at the castle. "I was waiting to see how long it would take you to grow a spine," was all she said, her tone calm. "Looks like it was about four days."

"Are you kidding me?" I exploded, flushing immediately as our classmates all began to stare. "This was a test?" I hissed.

Noel shrugged. "I mean it wasn't on purpose. I was just seeing how long I could keep you under my thumb before you fought back. It was a good lesson for you!"

Seething, I tried to take deep breaths. "You know what? You're a bitch."

She looked as stunned as I felt, me having never used that word before, let alone directed it at her. But I simply shouldered my bag and stalked towards the warmth of the Entrance Hall that awaited me.

I avoided going up to Gryffindor Tower for as long as I could, barricading myself in the library. I was torn between desperately wanting to see George and wrapping myself in his arms, and not wanting to hear whatever it was he wanted to tell me. Finally, after I had worked well through dinner and worn out my welcome with Madame Pince, I figured I had no choice.

I set off, keeping myself close to other groups of students so that I was never in the corridors alone. I used to wander the hallways without caution, knowing no one cared enough to notice me, and I longed for those days. I'd made myself a target, but some days I had trouble accepting the consequences.

As I entered the common room, ablaze with the roar of a huge fire and nearly getting knocked over by two third year boys who were chasing after each other, I made my way up the staircase to their dormitory, feeling as though I were walking into a trap.

I knocked softly, and it was answered by a scowling Fred. "Er, sorry if I interrupted something," I said apologetically.

Fred ruffled my hair as I moved past him. "Not your fault, Prudence love." He winced as he used his left hand to shut the door behind me, and I tossed him a sympathetic look.

"I was worried Noel had locked you away in your room," George spoke from his bed, sounding half-serious.

I forced myself to laugh. "No. As it turns out, she was testing me to see how long it would take before I snapped. Four days!" Even a heavy coating of sarcasm couldn't cover up my irritation.

Fred shook his head. "That girl is completely barmy. I don't know what-"

He cut himself off as I glared at him. "I didn't come here to say rude things about my friends. Just tell me you're going to leave Hogwarts and get it over with."

Both looked stunned at my outburst, and George sprung to his feet, moving in front of me. "Easy there, killer. Fred didn't mean anything by it. Please relax love, I hate seeing you like this."

"Sorry," I said quietly, allowing him to steer me by my shoulders to his desk chair.

"Not to worry love," Fred said with a wink. "We're quite used to mood swings thanks to our dear old mum! Ow!"

I stifled a laugh as George whipped one of Lee's shoes at Fred's head. Thanks to his accuracy from years of playing quidditch, it hit him square in the head.

"Well, we figured what we would tell you would be a surprise, but I should've known you'd figure it out. You're too smart." George's tone was full of praise and I smiled and stared down at the dusty, wooden floor. Even the house elves were probably too afraid to come in here and clean. They might pick up a dirty sock and have a miniature firework explode in their face.

Fred grabbed his own desk chair and flipped it around to face me, straddling it. "You know all about our plans for our joke shop, obviously."

I nodded, and George continued where his brother left off. "Well the thing is, we already have the shop. We bought it over the holidays."

"What?" My brow furrowed in confusion. "But…how? Buying or even just renting a store takes serious money. You can't have made that much from your Skiving Snackboxes, can you?"

Both of them paused. "Prudence, do you remember the prize money Harry got for winning the tournament last spring?"

I tried to not cringe at the thought of how exactly Harry had won. My thoughts on Cedric had been minimal lately but that didn't mean I could think about last term without wanting to scream or cry or both. "Sure," I said shakily. "A ton of money. Bagman presented it to him."

George muttered something under his breath with my mention of the Ministry employee. Fred rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, that's the thing. Harry didn't keep the money."

It was quiet for a moment. "Harry gave you a thousand galleons?"

"Yes," George answered finally.

I blinked. "But he-I mean, wouldn't he-"

Fred and George seemed to understand what I was trying to say. "Harry's got a good head on his shoulders. He didn't want nor need the money, so he gave it to us so we could put our dream into action. It's a debt we can never repay," Fred said sagely.

Swallowing, I forced myself to look at them. "So you guys are going to leave Hogwarts and open up your shop?"

Fred peered at me, his head resting on his arms, which were in turn resting on the top of the chair back. "Well we haven't quite decided yet. "

I looked at them questioningly. "What he means," George said hastily, seeing my expression, "is that we're not sure if we want to do it yet. We've got the property in Diagon Alley, but in the end we might just want to stick it out."

"We do not want the wrath of our mother on our hands if we can help it," Fred said by way of explanation. "Plus, you know, George has been crying himself to sleep every night at the thought of leaving you here."

George hurled another shoe his way but this time Fred was ready for it. He caught it with one hand, then got up and shoved it in his brother's face. "Smell it, smell it!"

The two began to have a scuffle, wrestling with each other in a fashion similar to two barbarians fighting over their latest hunting kill. There was a resounding crash as they knocked into the cage beside Lee's bed and I screamed bloody murder as a great, big, hairy tarantula leapt to the ground, scurrying right in my direction.

With an agility I didn't know that I possessed, I pushed off the floor and flung myself onto George's bed. "Catch it!" I screamed. "Catch the bloody thing!"

The two scrambled after it, but it shot beneath Kenneth's bed. Slowly, they tiptoed over, wands at the ready. Fred nodded at his brother, who counted to three and lifted up the covers. The light from his wand shined into the darkness and the spider scuttled into the middle of the room, where it sat.

I shivered and retracted, clutching to the bedpost. In a matter of seconds Fred levitated the open cage toward it, and with a mighty clang the drama was over. However, even after it was back on his bedside table with the scarlet cloth hiding it from view, I stayed standing on his bed eyeing the floor nervously.

"You two," I started unsteadily, "are idiots."

"Idiots you love, love," Fred reminded me with a wink.

George was watching me carefully. "Shall I walk you back to your dormitory now?"

I swallowed and nodded, but made no moves to get down. A tiny smirk spread across his face, and he moved to the foot of the bed, turning his back to me. "I'll carry you out."

Gently, I wrapped my legs around his waist and gripped his shoulders, allowing him to piggyback me to the corridor. I expected him to set me down once the door shut behind us but he continued down the stairs as if there he wasn't carrying an additional 57 kilograms.

"George, really, you can put me down. There's no spider here." I was clutching at his shoulders nervously as he bounded down the steep, wooden stairs carelessly.

"But I don't want to put you down," was all he said.

He stepped off the final landing and suddenly we were in the common room, which had become extremely crowded.

"Hi Prudence!" Ginny called from the corner. She was sitting with Dean Thomas and Seamus, and I noticed that Dean was quite close to her. "What was all that screaming about?"

"Perfect shot!" There was a flash of light and I blinked, turning to see that Colin Creevey had appeared in front of us and was snapping away with his camera.

Immediately I shoved my face into George's back in embarrassment. By now the entire room was watching in amusement as the fourth year jumped around trying to get the best frames.

George turned his head slightly. "Come on love," he coaxed quietly. "Just smile for one picture. I'll need something to look at when I'm not with you."

His words did not make me feel any better, but I managed to swallow my grimace and turn up the corners of my mouth. However it turned out Colin seemed to be happy with it, and with that the photo shoot was over.

"I'm going to miss this," he said as we stepped through the portrait hole. Once out in the corridor he set me on my own two feet.

I watched the paintings on the wall as we walked, unable to look at him. "You talk as though you're never going to see me again."

He was quiet for a moment. "My least favorite part of every day is the part where I say good night to you." George's eyes shifted to mine, and I met his gaze with a deep flush spreading across my cheeks. "I can't imagine going entire days without seeing you at all. Weeks. Months, even."

I tried to keep my voice even. "So don't go. No one is making you."

He turned to me and let go of my hand. "I know it doesn't make sense to you, but to me and Fred it does. We've never been interested in school because we know for what we do we don't need it. We have a better understanding of magic than most fully grown wizards because we spend all our free time experimenting with it. Hell, we're creating our own bloody magic. I'm sure if I wanted to I could get high marks on every exam, but it doesn't bother me if I don't.

"Fred and I have been discussing this for years, and now with Umbridge…why subject ourselves to this? There's no quidditch, the only class I actually liked is now a Ministry-influenced joke, and detention almost every night that's left my hand permanently scarred? There's no point."

While I was slightly hurt that I wasn't involved in his scenario at all, I supposed I had my head wrapped around it a little better. The twins were wired differently than everyone, I knew that. "It's just… I don't think I'll like what Hogwarts will be without you."

George sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Honestly Prudence, I've hardly done anything. You've done a lot for yourself. Standing up to Grace, Martin, Umbridge, and even Montague in spite of what he did to you. You went into the Slytherin common room on your own and handed Dumbledore extremely valuable information. You might not be outspoken like Noel but you're definitely brave enough to get on without me. All I'm good for is a few jokes."

"A few jokes…" I scoffed. "You can make people laugh, and you're already putting your life's ambition into action. I'm pretty jealous actually."

George grinned and stroked my cheek with his thumb affectionately as we both started walking again. "Says the girl who wants to be a healer and save the world. You're better than I'll ever be. Why do you think I like you so much?" When he spoke like that it created a warm sensation in my stomach that I'd come to associate with happiness. If he left, I knew I wouldn't be feeling that anymore, a thought that terrified me for multiple reasons.

We walked in a silence that was not uncomfortable, both of us lost in our own thoughts until we finally reached the stack of barrels that opened into my common room. There were a few students walking past and we waited until they'd turned the corner before we said our good nights.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning love," George said, planting a kiss on my cheek. "Don't forget we have our ah, meeting after dinner."

I scowled. "I haven't forgotten. I had to trade patrol hours with Janice, so I get to spend my Thursday evening with Kenneth."

He chuckled, and I eyed him suspiciously. "Why are you laughing?"

"You're adorable when you're frustrated," was all he said, and he turned to leave.

I stood there for a moment as I watched him head back down the corridor, then ran a few paces to catch up to him. I grabbed his arm and forced him around to face me, then stood on my tip toes, put a hand behind his head, and gave him a long kiss. My left hand gently trailed down his cheek to rest on his shoulder, and I pulled away slowly so I could savor the moment.

"Good night," I said with a grin, backing down the hall. The last thing I saw before I ducked into the tunnel was George laughing to himself and rubbing his lower lip with his thumb.

Both Noel and Grace's hangings were shut when I entered my dormitory, so I quietly readied for bed, climbed beneath my covers, and read until my eyelids were too heavy to hold up, yawning as I succumbed to the strain of the day.

When I awoke, Noel was standing over me worriedly with Grace behind her, arms folded across her chest and her face bearing an annoyed expression.

"Prudence, you were screaming," Noel said, the biting words between us forgotten. "About Cedric. Are you all right? I thought your nightmares were over."

My heart raced and my chest heaved as I forced myself to a sitting position. I vaguely noticed it was still dark outside. "What time is it?"

Noel frowned as I ignored her question, but Grace was the one who answered. "About 5:30. Now I don't know if I'll be able to get back to sleep."

"Would you just shut up?" Noel's eyes darkened.

"It's not my fault Little Miss Prude can't get over her dead boyfriend. Or under her new one," she sneered.

Noel made a beeline for her wand and Grace backed away with a shriek, but I leapt off the mattress and stepped between them. "Stop," I pleaded. "Both of you just please try and go back to sleep. I'm sorry."

After much grumbling from my roommates and a sympathetic glance from Noel, both retreated to their beds, Grace yanking her mask down over her eyes and sighing in irritation. I turned out the lights and slid beneath my covers, but I was wide awake. Noel assumed my nightmares were over because I'd taken to placing a silencing charm on my corner every night, but in the excitement of my conversation with the twins I'd forgotten.

Even though I was happy with George, I feared I would never truly be absolved of my guilt about Cedric, a thought that my subconscious seemed inclined to agree with. What was going to happen if George left?

I laid in bed for an hour trying to suppress the horrible thoughts that sought me in the dark. When I couldn't stand it any longer and my eyes were puffy from crying, I showered and readied myself for the upcoming day of classes, trying to shake it off.

Around eight o'clock, I found myself being woken by Noel for the second time, with a deep imprint in my cheek thanks to my Potions textbook.

"Are you still pissy about yesterday? I'm really sorry," was her way of greeting me.

I rubbed my eyes and cast a concealment charm to cover the welt. "Honestly I'm too tired to care. But if you ever decide to 'test' me again, I'll shave your hair off in your sleep. Also, stop being a baby about Lee."

Noel smirked and helped me off the couch. "Deal. So why did you so desperately have to go to their dorm last night?"

"They pretty much told me they were leaving." I patted down my hair, which was done in a french plait. George had told me about a month ago that he liked my hair best in this style, and I'd been making more of an effort to fix my hair up every morning.

"Like, after the school year's over? Are they opening their shop somewhere else? I bet they could do well in America…" she mused.

"No," I said, a mild undertone of anger in my voice. "They're not going to finish. They want to leave Hogwarts."

She blinked at me in surprise as we joined the throng of students flooding into the Great Hall. "Well, that's….smart."

I stared at her incredulously. "Pardon?"

"They don't need NEWTs to start a bloody joke shop. Matter of fact I bet their main reasoning for even coming back this past autumn was to build up their business, which they've already done tenfold. Umbridge is giving them such an awful time that it's a miracle they haven't offed her yet besides," Noel said matter-of-factly.

I remained silent, sliding in beside George and accepting my cup of tea without so much as a thank you. I allowed the caffeine to soothe my throat and reached for a biscuit.

"Good morning love," George said carefully. "Rough night?"

A tidal wave of frustration washed over me, and before I could think about it I blurted, "nightmares about Cedric."

Noel raised a brow disapprovingly as she spooned eggs onto her plate, but I ignored her. Lee, who had been in a discussion with Angelina about Gryffindor's pitiful odds for the cup, turned around to stare at me. Fred and George nodded at the same time, but only George responded.

"Well, if you want, I could give you a Dreamless Draught. Fred and I swiped some from Pomfrey last month to use in our Patented Daydream charms and we've got some left over." His voice was stiff and inwardly I cringed.

I hadn't meant to hurt his feelings…or maybe I had. It was childish of me, and even though we'd gone to bed on good terms last night I couldn't help but be upset that he wouldn't stay for another few months, even for me. Tears pricked at the corner of my eyes and I pushed back from the table.

"Got to use the loo. See you lot in class," I managed, hurrying out of the room even though I'd scarcely had time to finish my biscuit, let alone my tea. Without pausing to look at anyone, I ran straight across the Entrance Hall to Myrtle's bathroom, collapsing against the door as it swung shut behind me.

I sat with my head between my knees as my breath came out short and fast, a sign of an oncoming panic attack. They'd lessened over the course of the year but I still got them whenever I felt my life was spiraling out of control.

"You look awful," came from beside me, and I didn't even have to look up to know it was Moaning Myrtle. She had floated out of her toilet stall to come and insult me.

"Go away Myrtle. I'm sure there's some prefect taking a bath now that you could spy on."

She sniffed and flew in front of me. "You're quite rude. I'll have you know it's that sort of bullying that got me killed."

I snarled and glared at her through bleary eyes. "Can you just go back to your toilet stall and leave me be, please?" I managed through gritted teeth.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," Myrtle simpered, doing a giant loop in the air before zooming back to the U-bend. I could hear her giggling even over my heavy breathing and the ringing in my ears.

I rolled my head back until it hit the stone wall and forced myself to get a rhythm going in my breathing. In for four seconds, hold for seven, out for eight. After I had done this several times, I noticed that my heart rate had slowed and I was no longer gasping for air.

With another glower in the ghost's direction, I stood, wiped off my skirt, and made my way down to the dungeons, keeping a careful watch for any green robes coming my way. Gemma was just ahead of me, her roommates on one side and Pucey on the other. The latter was walking in his typical arrogant manner, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders broad so he could shove those in his path to the side.

A headache was pounding just between my eyes and it wasn't even nine yet. Lee looked wary of me as I stormed in, my bag dropping to the floor with a thud as I settled in my seat heavily.

"So…" he started awkwardly. "Hear you had a fun play date with Wallace."

I cringed as I pictured the black, hairy tarantula in my mind, but laughed when I imagined what I must have looked like, leaping about and screaming. "Yeah. Your idiot roommates had a brawl that resulted in his cage falling to the ground."

"Believe it or not, that's not uncommon."

I chuckled at his jibe and shook my head, ignoring Martin who had come in and taken his place at our table silently. "I believe it."

The door slammed shut behind us and the gloom of the dungeon seemed to thicken as our professor walked in. "Wands away, cauldrons out, essays will be collected now. If you fail to turn one in within the next thirty seconds, it is considered a failing grade."

I couldn't help but look around at Snape's words. Everyone calmly sifted through their bags and produced fourteen inches of parchment, which were floated through the air to rest upon his desk. My eyes met Gemma's, who looked miserable. She was the only one who had not heeded the instructions.

"Miss Farley," he started, his lip curling slightly. I think she was the only student from his house who he loathed as much as the Gryffindors. "Do you have an explanation for your assignment's tardiness? Not," he added, "that it matters, seeing as how it will not sway the T that will be added to your class average."

Most of the class looked oblivious to Snape's biting remark, but Montague and Pucey exchanged a smirk. I did not like thought that had passed wordlessly between them.

"No Sir." Gemma sounded calm, trying to assert the confidence in her tone that she reserved for her prefect duties. "I apologize."

"Yes…" Snape drawled. "I'm sure. You can work on the assignment that everyone else managed to complete on time in detention. Open your books to page seven eighty three and brew the Draught of Despair. You have until the end of the hour."

Without another word being spoken, everyone split up, some to the supply closet and others to their partner, no one even thinking about disobeying. At this level, everyone, even Montague and Pucey, cared about their grades too much to risk it on conversation. Lee and I worked in a harmonic silence alongside Alicia and Angelina. Janice had gotten stuck working with Martin, although I noticed she didn't look too unhappy about it.

By half past, our concoction was a frothy blue and Snape grudgingly passed our cauldron without comment, though his glare sent a shiver down my spine. Since I'd become more friendly with the Gryffindors, I'd lost whatever tiny shred of respect he'd had for me. I acted like it didn't bother me, knowing how unjustified his actions were, but I'd enjoyed being one of the few Hufflepuffs that the professor didn't openly disregard.

My day improved greatly from there, my luck doing a complete turnaround. Lee and Noel got along perfectly lunch, passing each other baskets of rolls and jams, and even sat next to one another in Transfiguration. I happily settled beside George, who'd let me know my morning actions were forgiven with a peck on the cheek.

We'd been given no homework from Professor Babbling, a fact that Noel looked put off about as it was the only class she actually liked, and McGonagall had allowed us to practice transfiguring ourselves today. I'd given myself a makeover to look like George, and had earned my house twenty points for "excellency and wit."

Even Defense wasn't so bad. We read in silence the whole time while Umbridge graded our assignments from last class, occasionally letting out a "hem hem." I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. On the days of DA practices, I grew incredibly impatient until the meeting started. Now that I'd gotten my patronus, I was working on extremely advanced spells that made me excited for NEWTs. I couldn't wait to shove it in Umbridge's pug-like face.

Finally, the bell rang, and I sprung out of my seat.

"Easy there tiger," George joked, catching up to me in two short strides of his legs. I allowed him to swing my bag off of my shoulder and over his, his free arm slinging around my waist. "Someone couldn't wait to leave."

I quickened my pace as there was a break in the flow of students. "I just want it to be tonight. Can't it be eight o'clock already?"

George leaned down, his breath hot against my neck. "I've got several ways to occupy your time," he whispered, and a shiver ran down my spine at his words. I hated how easily he could affect me, which is why I'd been very careful with our boundaries lately.

"I've got too much work to do," I said, trying to keep my focus on the heads of Ginny and Luna who were just ahead of us in the crowd, rather than the sensation of his fingers pressing against my hip.

"You're no fun," he pretended to pout, but five minutes later when we reached the entrance to the library, he allowed me to wrap my arms around his neck in a hug, promising to meet me outside Gryffindor Tower at 7:45 sharp.

About an hour after I had settled into my table towards the back of the vast room, a swarm of Slytherins crossed the threshold, silently managing to stiffen the spines of every student they walked past. Everyone, even the Ravenclaws who had always gotten along with them, were wary. Nearly half the house now bore an obnoxiously shiny badge emblazoned with the initials 'I.S.' on their chests, and nothing made them happier than docking points or throwing someone in detention.

Gemma was among them, her roommate Mara Devereaux beside her. Mara, like Gemma, was from France, although she had been born there and had an extra aura of snootiness due to her accent and heritage. Sure enough, when I risked a glance in their direction, I saw Mara's nose in the air and her bag on the seat beside her, ensuring that no one else would be sitting with them.

I gave a small sigh of relief as I noticed the only badge attached to Gemma's robes was the silver prefect pin, then scolded myself. Who cared? She had proven she wasn't a friend, but a foe. Fred, George, and Lee had been right all along.

I lowered my gaze to my Astronomy textbook and did not look up until the room had emptied and the hour had grown late. My stomach rumbled and I packed my things, walking down the two short flights to the Great Hall where Noel and Lee were seated. The twins had said they would grab something from the kitchens tonight, and I'd expected a bland dinner at the Hufflepuff table, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the two conversing.

"What are you two crazy kids chattering about?" I asked, sliding next to Noel. She seemed to be at ease, and actually looked comfortable.

Noel rolled her eyes. "He was just being stupid, nothing new."

"Oi!" he exclaimed indignantly. "I resent your comment."

She shrugged. "I'm sure you'll get over it." She made to grab the goblet of pumpkin juice but accidentally bumped Lee's plate, sending his ketchup-coated fork into his lap. "Sorry!"

Noel sat down in mortification as Lee cleaned himself up, righting the spilled food and stained robes. "Not a problem, love."

As soon as the word left his mouth, the pair froze, and I saw a faint flush creeping up the back of Lee's neck.

"So…any bets on who can cast the quickest patronus tonight?" I asked quietly, eager to get the conversation rolling again. The situation suddenly felt very awkward and strained.

Noel looked grateful at my change of topic, and though she was careful to keep her appendages away from Lee at all costs, I noticed her glancing at him every few seconds or so, as though she were trying to commit every topographical detail to memory.

As soon as half past rolled around, I bounded to my feet. "Ready to go?"

The two shared an eye roll and a laugh. I didn't even care that it was at my expense; I was just grateful they were getting along. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad if the twins left.

"There's my gorgeous but too-good-for me girlfriend," George greeted me as we finished our trek up seven sets of stairs. I'd nearly gotten stuck in the trick step on the way to meet them, and a staircase had rerouted while we were halfway up, so I breathed a sigh of relief as he came into view.

My cheeks lit up as Noel and Lee snickered behind me. "You don't have to be so brash, you know."

"I know," he responded with a shrug. "I want to be. It's not every day you have someone in your life like Prudence Turner!"

I shrieked as he picked me up and spun me around, whacking him as he set me down.

"Please," Fred started. "Don't make me throw up. The two of you have evolved into a Madame Puddifoot's couple."

Noel, Lee, and George gasped in a scandalized manner. "How dare you," George said in a dramatic whisper, and I impatiently tugged on the arms of the twins to get them moving again. I didn't have time for their antics.

Fred, Lee, and Noel led the way, with Fred telling a joke about a thestral, a garden gnome, and a wench.

"How was your afternoon?" I asked quietly, slipping my hand loosely into the crook of his arm. I had an intense urge to be as close to him as possible.

"Lonely," George replied with a wink. "Had my bed all to myself."

I dug my nails into the skin of his forearm, which was bare thanks to his rolled up sleeves. If an Inquisitorial Squad member walked by, that would be ten points docked for him, plus we'd all earn a spot in detention as we were a group larger than three. George and I would probably land another one for being within two feet of each other. "Oh shut up."

We all waited as we watched Anthony Goldstein pace back and forth three times in front of the blank stretch of wall, and scooted in behind him. Thanks to my eagerness, we were among the first there, the others being Luna, Neville, and Cho Chang. Marietta was not with her.

At the beginning, I'd dreaded the awkward pleasantries that I'd had to endure, positive that no one actually wanted to talk to me and they were just being polite. But the twins had opened up several doors for me and introduced me to everyone, and as a whole the DA had grown into a close-knit group, the rebellion of our actions driving us together.

Everyone gathered around the five of us as Fred and George began to explain that they would soon be officially open for business. Everything was going well until Dean Thomas walked in with Seamus Finnegan beside him. Slowly, the conversations died. Lee cleared his throat as Harry gathered his bearings. Seamus had recently renounced the Ministry, but things between the two didn't appear to be quite patched up.

"So this is where you've been going all year?" Seamus asked, his accent thick.

Harry nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "We've worked on a bunch of things. Erm…why don't you watch us for a few minutes, see what we're up to. You can pair up with Dean and I'm sure you'll catch on."

Eager to break the ice, I grabbed Luna from the crowd and we found a corner to practice. She looked pretty pleased that I'd picked her, as for the past several sessions I'd been with George, but I wanted to focus today. Luna and I had both been able to cast and hold our patronuses, and so I thought that we could work on sending messages to each other through them.

From across the room George shot me a saucy wink, and I rolled my eyes. Noel and Lee had continued to surprise me by partnering up, but I could tell it was forced. She was trying to help him with his own patronus, which remained slightly unclear, and as she touched his elbow to change the positioning of his arm he bristled.

"There's quite a lot of tension in the room, isn't there?"

I turned away and prepared to answer Luna, only to see that she was standing ten feet away, smiling serenely. "How did you do that?"

Her hare disappeared and she moved closer. "I could show you if you'd like."

For the next twenty minutes, she quietly coached me through the spell. Admittedly, it took a lot of mental capacity and physical ability. It was something that, without practice, needed all of my concentration and I'd been having an issue with that lately. George was amazing, but he was certainly a distraction, even when he wasn't trying to be.

On my third try, my unicorn bounded over to her and there was a faint mumble before it evaporated.

"You almost had it," she said encouragingly. "I bet you'll get it next time."

I beamed at her, and as I opened my mouth to reply, there was a loud _'crack!'_

Everyone stilled, staring at the house elf that just appeared in the center of the room. "She's coming!" the elf cried, and Harry's eyes grew wide.

The students burst into whispers. I sent a panicked look to Luna. People started backing towards the door.

"What are you waiting for?" Harry said finally. "RUN!"

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><p><strong>AN: Hi everyone. There aren't enough apologies. I fully planned on having this out weeks ago. Instead it took me more than a month. My life pretty much went to hell in a hand basket. There was a death in the family and I got in a car accident and I'm trying to prepare for school and I work like 70 hours a week...So there are my excuses. If I still have anyone reading this, thank you so much. Your reviews always make me smile and this story was always on the forefront of my mind. I wanted it to be even longer than this but it's almost 7,000 and at least now I know exactly how I'm starting the next chapter. Everything is winding down now so I plan on having much more free time, especially once I'm moved in at school and I'm no longer working my summer job.**


	27. Cat and Mouse

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

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><p>And then it was mayhem. Luna, who I'd never seen anything but tranquil, gasped and whirled around, taking off for the door with her blonde hair trailing behind her. Several people screamed and I saw Harry and Ron trying to usher people out, their expressions anxious.<p>

"Prudence, come on!"

I didn't know where Fred, Noel, and Lee were, but George grabbed my arm and forced me along anyway. I got jostled between a group of people in black and blue robes but I couldn't see exactly who; I was using all of my concentration to keep up with George and stay on my feet as they pounded against the stone.

We burst out into the corridor and immediately turned right, the opposite way of the common room.

"May be trying to ambush us," he panted. "Probably waiting down there."

I couldn't argue with his logic and didn't have the breath to anyway. His hand was sweaty in mine and I clung to it desperately, feeling terrified. I couldn't get expelled, I just couldn't. My father…

I shuddered, and he stopped briefly to glance back at me. Footsteps started coming from around the corner, but with the noise that everyone was making in the direction we'd come from, I knew we'd get caught for sure if we doubled-back. We were stuck.

We looked at each other, but George didn't seem panicked. I opened my mouth to whisper something, and then I found myself falling backwards. I hit a tapestry and stumbled harshly, just managing to stay upright as everything went dark around me. Furious, I raced back to the corridor, only to find the way blocked. He had sealed it.

"Mr. Weasley." The voice was winded and shaky, but I knew that tone. It was Umbridge.

"I told you Professor!" someone said excitedly. "It's the Gryffindors! Potter and them," they spat.

"Silence!" Umbridge said. I could just see the smirk sliding across her face. I wanted to help. He couldn't take the fall for this; I should bang on the walls, yell, anything. But I couldn't. I was a coward.

For a moment all I could hear was the High Inquisitor sucking wind. "How may I help you, Professor?" George asked finally.

She simpered. "Oh Mr. Weasley, I believe you've already helped me tremendously. It is now officially," Umbridge paused, "ten oh one. You're breaking curfew. That's, let's see…on top of the three weeks of detention you are currently serving, I believe that's another week. Your uniform attire is, ah, lacking, so that's three days. You're out of breath, which leads me to believe you were running in the corridor which is also forbidden so add four days to that-"

There was a bunch of snickering and I balled my fists, angry tears pricking at the corners of my eyes.

"And the gesture that you made toward your fellow students is both crass and against the rules so I'll add two weeks for that. I've got you every night through May, Mr. Weasley," Umbridge said happily. "Now, I have many other matters to attend to tonight, but you will report to me first thing tomorrow morning for questioning on your whereabouts for the dates of…."

I tuned her out as she began listing off every past meeting of the DA. She had found out. Someone had told. And the only person who had not been in attendance tonight was Marietta, Cho's best friend.

"I will be taking 50 points from Gryffindor, be grateful it is only that. I'd take more but…then I'd leave your house with nothing." Umbridge laughed to herself. "Mr. Goyle and Ms. Bulstrode will escort you back to your common room. If you try anything, Mr. Weasley, just know that they have full rights to place you in detention and they may deduct as many points as they see fit, even if it drags it to the negatives. Good night."

Her heels clacked down the corridor and there was a grunt from George before three very heavy sets of footsteps began to pound the opposite way. I knew George wouldn't fight; he didn't want his house to lose what meager points they still had left.

I rested my head against the cool stone wall and counted, very slowly, to three hundred. I probably would have been safe if I'd waited only a minute or two but I wasn't sure whether or not George would even want to see me. He had a lot more difficulty handling his emotions than his twin, and his anger was more unpredictable.

Cautiously, I made my way back towards Gryffindor Tower, making sure there was no one waiting around the corners. George and I had apparently gotten pretty far away, and I was regretting it now that it was so late and I was alone. I breathed a sigh of relief when the portrait of the Fat Lady came into view, and after stating the password I quickly dodged inside of it, not willing to be discovered by anyone who bore the crest of Slytherin House on their robes.

The common room was crowded but surprisingly quiet. Most appeared to be completely unaware of the events that had just unfolded, but a bunch of DA members including Fred, Ginny, Angelina, Alicia, and Parvati Patil were clustered together in a corner, none of them speaking much. I noticed Harry, Ron, and Hermione were not with them and hoped they had not been caught. Umbridge's hatred towards them almost paralleled the twins.

Ignoring those around me, I made a beeline for the staircase and took the familiar path up to where I knew George would be seething. I knocked on the door and hesitated for only a moment before entering. The room was dark save for the moonlight spilling in from the windows and a lone candle burning on Kenneth's desk, but I could see every emotion on his face as he sat on his trunk, his arms resting on his knees and his gaze directed at the blank wall. He was breathing heavily, which seemed to be more from trying to contain his anger than anything else.

"I take it you're not going to be present for those detentions?"

At the sound of my voice he looked up, and I saw the fury in his eyes. His expression softened slightly as I stepped into the room and shut the door delicately behind me, but I treaded lightly, as though he were a bomb about to go off any minute. "Not a chance."

My heart felt too heavy for my chest. He was really going to leave. I stared at him, his red hair unkempt and his clasped hands shaking. He didn't look ready for a fight. He looked defeated.

"Thank you," I said quietly. "For taking the fall."

He shook his head. "You've got too much at stake. Your education is much more important than mine."

I swallowed, momentarily at a loss for words. "That's what I signed up for though. I knew what was at risk when I put my name on that parchment."

"Prudence," he said warily, and he sounded so exhausted that the words that had been waiting on the tip of my tongue vanished. "It's done."

I bit down on my lip, harder than I meant to. I winced as I ran the tip of my tongue over the tender spot I had just created. A weird emotion swelled up inside of me as I realized the gravity of the situation. I was standing in front of him, in a dark room where we were very much alone. The tension, which had been building between the two of us since the day of Trelawney's sacking, felt so palpable I could almost reach out and touch it.

George would be leaving, and there was nothing I could do to change it. I wouldn't see him for months, and who knew what would happen in that time. I had been a coward before, but that was something I could change.

My right foot moved forward, followed by my left. I bridged the gap between us steadily, watching him watch me, his expression impassible. I swallowed nervously as he became within arm's distance, and I reached out my hands, grabbing fistfuls of his wrinkled shirt.

I tugged gently and he stood, his face morphing in understanding as my actions became clear. I pulled him closer, until we were toe to toe, and gazed up at him. I could feel the heat between us as I slipped my hands up over his shoulders, the tips of my fingers settling in the curves of his face. His cheeks were smooth and his jaw was strong and I brought our mouths together slowly, quivering with anticipation.

George didn't respond for a few moments, but when he did I found myself fighting for control. His lips opened slightly, and his breathing grew ragged as his hands clutched at my back, changing his grip every few seconds as though he physically couldn't get close enough. But I wanted more.

I pulled back, frustrated. "George," I started, panting slightly. "I'm not a bloody nun. You can touch me."

My eyes stared directly into his, and his chest strained against his collared shirt as he weighed my words. His hands moved down my back, almost in slow motion, the force pressing our hips together as his calloused fingers found the exposed skin of my thighs. He pressed against the flesh of my legs, inches from the bottom of my knickers, and a shiver of excitement ran down my spine at this unexplored territory.

Maintaining his grip, George lifted me off my feet and lowered me onto his bed, his eyes never leaving mine for an instant. He settled beside me and his lips molded to mine insistently, both of our mouths open and our breath mingling. I could feel his heart beating against my chest and his right hand trailed from my knee up my leg, going beneath my skirt. I shuddered as his fingers slipped under the fabric of my knickers and stroked the bare skin of my hip, the sensation foreign but wonderful.

His touch moved toward my inner thighs, dancing dangerously close to my most private area before weaving back around to my bum. George grunted into the kiss, both hands now feeling the hot flesh of my backside, his grip almost painful.

He buried his face in my neck and I pressed my head against the pillow to expose as much skin as I could, feeling incapable of proper thoughts. His hand skirted around to my hip, pressing us even closer together, something I hadn't thought possible. Dizzily, I allowed him to shift us so that I was beneath him, taking in deep breaths of air.

If I could have taken a photo at any particular moment, it would have been this one. I had a muddled, fleeting wish for Colin Creevey to be here, but it was lost as my head spun. George was hovering above me, his slightly unbuttoned shirt hanging to reveal his smooth, muscular chest. His hair fell into his face and he was staring down at me in a way I'd never been looked at before. And it felt good.

He lowered himself bit by bit so as not to crush me, and it wasn't until the lack of space between us that I realized he was trembling. Tenderly, he moved my hair to the side, reaching for the buttons of my shirt. Where had my sweater gone…?

Top button. Second button. Third. He stopped there, giving me a reassuring glance before pushing aside the fabric with shaking hands. The tops of my breasts were now exposed, just a hint of the white, silk fabric that held them in place peeking out. I exhaled loudly and unexpectedly as he placed an open-mouthed kiss on my skin, in a place I'd never dreamed of feeling anything at all.

"George," I breathed wildly, starting to panic. I wasn't ready for this, I couldn't -

There was a pounding on the steps and hardly a moment later a fist against the door. It swung open and the room was flooded with light, revealing the tall, lanky figure of Fred. I blinked and peered at the doorframe, the brightness creating dark dots in my line of vision.

"The two of you need to put your hormones away and come downstairs, now," was all he said, and then he disappeared.

I shuddered and scrambled away from him. My feet hit the floor and I stood, nearly falling as a tidal wave of blackness washed over me.

"Are you all right?" he asked, not looking at me. He was breathing hard, his anger still simmering beneath the surface.

I swallowed as I regained my bearings. "Yes. Now come on, something's happened."

The two of us straightened ourselves out, buttoning up the appropriate buttons and smoothing down our hair. We left the dormitory silently and flew down the steps to the common room. I hadn't thought the two of us had been upstairs all that long but now it was nearly empty, the fire a mere pile of embers.

Harry was pacing back and forth in front of the mantel. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were seated on the couch in front of him, eyeing him worriedly. Fred and Lee took the two arms of the sofa, and Neville, Dean, and Seamus were crowded around one of the armchairs.

"There you two are," Angelina said hollowly, gesturing us over to where she stood with Alicia and Katie. A quick glance around showed that the only students remaining were the Gryffindor members of the DA, and I turned to Harry with a sickly feeling in my stomach.

"Harry," Ginny pleaded. "Tell us what's happened."

George spoke from beside me, nearly making me jump out of my skin. "Were you caught?"

He nodded tersely. "I had run past the common room and was trying to make it down to the sixth floor when I ran straight into the lot of them, Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe, Zabini. They held me there until Umbridge came, who took me straight to Dumbledore's office. She had the list in her hands. The list with our names."

Hermione gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. Ron shook his head, his mouth set in a firm line. "When we got there," Harry continued, "McGonagall was in there with Marietta, who was crying into her robes. Umbridge was trying to get her to lower them but she wouldn't."

Hermione appeared pleased for a moment, but got distracted as he kept speaking. "It all happened so fast. The Minister was called, and he came with two aurors, Shacklebolt and Dawlish. They were trying to arrest Dumbledore and I tried to tell them that it was my fault, that it was me who was behind it-"

My lower lip trembled and there were already tears trailing down Katie's cheeks. "But Dumbledore insisted it was him. He had coerced the lot of us into doing it, he said. So they were all set to take him away to Azkaban when all of a sudden a bunch of spells went off. I was forced onto the floor by McGonagall and when the smoke cleared, the aurors were knocked out and Dumbledore was gone."

"He escaped?" Lee demanded. Harry nodded, and several people burst into cheers.

"Just wait until morning," Harry said darkly. "We'll be needing a new Headmaster now."

At his words, the celebration died down. We all looked at each other, knowing full well what the dawn would bring. George took one look at my expression and took my clammy hand in his. She had really done it. Umbridge had taken over the school. The Ministry was in total power.

After about ten minutes of angry muttering, everyone broke apart, completely exhausted and ready to fall straight into their beds. I myself quite wanted to wash away the memories of the day, but George would not release me.

"You're not going back to your dormitory, not now," he said as Fred and Lee pushed past us. "It's way too late, you'd surely be caught. They've got your name, and I can guarantee that they know exactly who is unaccounted for."

I chewed on my already raw lip as I thought it over, choosing to look over his shoulder so as not to make eye contact. To be honest, his intensity was scaring me, but I was dead on my feet and my left hand still ached from my detention that had happened weeks ago. George was right.

Ginny and Hermione gave me wan smiles as they made their way up the stairs to their dormitories, leaving just the two of us. "Prudence, please. I'm sorry about what just happened. You've never been that forward with me before and you just made me so bloody crazy I wasn't thinking straight. But I'll conjure a mattress for the floor and everything, of course you can have the bed-"

"George!" I spoke to cut him off, relaxing slightly. He was nervous, something which didn't happen very often. "Calm down. I know what just happened was my fault. I was the one that put us in that situation. I'm not upset, I don't think. Let's go upstairs and go to bed. And no, you don't have to conjure a mattress for the floor."

His expression remained serious. "Are you sure?" I nodded, and was rewarded with a tiny smirk. "I have no idea what's gotten into you today but I like it."

I yelped slightly as he pinched my bum before sprinting up the steps two at a time. Well, that was more familiar at least. With a sigh I climbed after him, trying to collect my thoughts. We were about to sleep in the same bed. Merlin, what had I just agreed to?

The bed was small; surely we would have no space to ourselves. What if he felt all of my…soft bits? I wasn't lean and toned like some of the girls here. I didn't really have an issue with how I looked, but would he be repulsed by how I felt? My hands flew to the area above my hips and the smooth, curved skin of my stomach.

I reached the top landing, feeling incredibly nervous. Surely by now Kenneth was there, and he would have some sort of comment to make. And Fred and Lee – what were they going to say?

Feeling incredibly awkward, I knocked to announce my presence.

"Come in," George called, so I stepped inside. Kenneth's curtains were already drawn, for which I was extremely grateful, although Lee walked past in nothing but a pair of blue boxer shorts and waved cheerfully. "We just got a note from Noel saying she made it back to your common room. Terrence Higgs found her but I don't think that poor, pimply sod was much of a match for her."

"Course not," Lee said as he tossed a red sheet over Wallace's cage. "He's probably got a massive case of bat-bogeys and blue balls."

Fred barked in laughter from the loo, and George shook his head and grinned. I was still standing in the doorway. George reached behind him and yanked his shirt off, tossing it into the hamper in the corner. Perhaps my hormones hadn't quite settled yet, but I felt a burning, tingling sensation in the pit of my stomach as I for the first time saw him in such a relaxed setting.

I cleared my throat and averted my gaze until he had pulled on a spare undershirt that he dug from his trunk.

"Will you stop creeping by the door and come in here?" George asked in fake exasperation, and I timidly walked forward to accept the set of pajamas he handed me. The top was an old, well-worn Puddlemere United jersey and the bottoms a pair of pants that must have been from his second or third year when he was a foot shorter. Even still, I knew they would be trailing on the ground.

I thanked him quietly and side-stepped Fred to get into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me and taking deep breaths. I smiled in surprise as I saw my toothbrush, hairbrush, and facial cleanser. George must have conjured them from my dormitory.

I changed slowly. Typically, I slept without a bra on, as admittedly my chest was very small and the material wasn't made for comfort, but that was most certainly not happening tonight. I yanked the jersey over my undergarment reluctantly, observing myself. It ended mid-thigh and the shirt sleeves came down to my elbows. I laughed slightly to myself as I pulled the bottoms on, tying them as tightly as they would go. Looking down at the floor, my feet had become invisible beneath the faded, blue cotton.

Nervously I emerged, noting that now Fred, Lee, and Kenneth were all in their beds with their hangings drawn. Perhaps they had more tact than I thought. I shuffled over to George who was standing by his trunk, feeling silly for feeling silly.

"Your clothes are way too big for me," I said quietly, adjusting my hair so it all rested over one shoulder. It had grown long since the summer, in need of a cut.

He raised a brow. "My clothes look perfect on you."

I pressed my lips together to prevent a shriek as he suddenly threw me over his shoulder, but I kicked my legs around in protest. Without much regard, he tossed me onto his bed, causing the mattress to shake.

Fred peeled back his hangings. "Oi, lovebirds," he started. "I'd tell you two to get a room, but I fear I'd be kept up all night by your antics, so instead I'll kindly say shut the bloody hell up!"

My cheeks flushed and George rewarded his brother with a very rude hand gesture before using his wand to extinguish the lights.

"Thank you," I whispered shyly as I slipped beneath the covers.

George slid in beside me with much more bravado, rolling onto his side to face me. "No need to thank me, love. It was all part of my master plan."

I couldn't see, but I was fairly sure he'd winked at me. My elbow found his stomach and he recoiled, before enveloping me in an iron-tight grip.

"Now you can't go anywhere," he said softly, loosening his arms slightly and hunkering down against the pillows.

There was something about the dark that gave me a sense of boldness that evaded me in the daylight. "I wouldn't want to anyway."

"Mmm," he sighed contentedly as I adjusted myself in his grasp. My back was against his chest, one of his arms weaved beneath my head and the other against my stomach. "You're so soft."

Nervously I shifted, until his next sleep laden words. "I love how soft you are," he mumbled.

I relaxed and shut my eyes, waiting until his breathing became steady and the rise and fall of his chest developed a rhythm. "I love you," I replied, repeating the words I had told him the last time I had spent the night in this bed. He did not stir.

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><p>I woke slowly, feeling unusually cozy and content. The sleep did not easily rub from my eyes, but when I finally got my bearings, I found myself curled into George's side, my head nestled into the crook of his neck. Our legs were entangled and his right hand held me securely in place.<p>

My heart began to beat faster. I'd just slept in a bedroom with boys. In a bed. With a boy. Who I had almost –

I stopped. Was I going to have sex with George last night? When I had come up here, those had not been my intentions. But now, I wasn't so sure. I'd let him get pretty far, and what if he was expecting more from me now? I knew this was George but I also knew that George was a teenage boy with _very _active hormones, and I had pretty much thrown all caution to the wind.

Nervously I wiggled around and tried to free myself, suddenly eager to escape from the dorm. I needed Noel.

"If you're trying to leave because you're freaking out about last night, don't think I'm letting you out of my grasp," George mumbled suddenly, his lips moving against my temple.

I glanced up at him. His eyes were still shut and he was breathing deeply as though he were still asleep. "Are you sleep talking?"

He chuckled and opened his eyes. "No, love. I just wanted you to think you woke up first so you could have a moment to collect your thoughts."

"Oh," I said softly, staring down at his chest, which was eye level. "That was sweet of you."

George nudged my foot with his and I directed my gaze to him reluctantly. "If you want to forget what happened last night, then it's forgotten. I don't want you to do anything you're not ready for."

"I wanted it," I admitted embarrassedly. "I just wasn't ready for it."

He placed a soft kiss atop my head. "Then we'll wait until you are."

Smiling, I allowed him to capture my hand in his. I stayed there for a few moments, trying to match my racing heart's beat with his slow and steady one. The room was quiet; it was still early enough that the birds were not yet out.

"As much as I want you to stay here, Kenneth usually gets up about this time to do extra credit assignments," George said, his expression morphing into one of distaste. "So if you want to avoid him, I suggest you head back to the first floor."

I nodded but didn't move. "George?"

"Mm?" he responded.

I closed my eyes and swallowed before opening them and staring up at the canopy. "I love you."

Silence.

My heart pounded in my ears and I bolted to my feet. "I've got to go."

Without even bothering to change or answer George's calls, I grabbed up my uniform and shoes from the top of his trunk and dashed out the door, down the stairs, through the common room, and out into the corridor.

Once the portrait closed behind me, I slipped on my socks and shoes and continued down to the first floor at a fast walk, as though I were trying to outrun what had just happened. Why was I so bloody stupid? Why, why, why? Of course he didn't love me back, I was just a crush to him. Someone who fascinated him and that he fancied, sure, but I was always the one who cared more. It was that way with Cedric, why wouldn't it be that way with George?

I reached my own common room out of breath and crawled through the tunnel, feeling sweaty and extremely anxious. I ignored the looks of Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott, who appeared to have gotten up early to do schoolwork, and forced myself to walk the short distance to my dormitory.

I shut the door behind me as silently as I could, noticing the drawn hangings, but marched over to Noel's bed anyway and took a seat on the mattress.

"Wake up!" I whispered frantically, shaking the lump that was buried beneath the covers. "Noel, get up!"

I received an extremely affronted glare as Noel lifted up her silk eye mask. "Prudence, what the hell?"

"I just told George that I loved him and he didn't say it back." I cringed as I finished speaking. The recollection was just as awful.

She blinked twice, then pushed herself to a sitting position. "Hold on," Noel said, grabbing her wand and casting a silencing spell. We both knew the consequences if we woke up Grace, and neither of us felt like dealing with an angry banshee at six in the morning. "All right, tell me everything."

And so I did. I told her how he'd allowed himself to get caught in order to save my school record. How I'd gone after him and found him in the dormitory. How I initiated the kiss, and how it led to us being vertical on his bed. How Dumbledore had disappeared and we would have a new headmaster in the morning. How I'd spent the night, and then had a complete brain spasm that had likely just ended my relationship with George.

When I finally finished, I stared at her pleadingly, hoping for her to say some sort of silver lining. To tell me it would be okay. Give me some ounce of knowledge about her relationships from the past that would reassure me.

"You're fucked."

A tear leaked out of the corner of my eye and I furiously wiped it away. I didn't want to be upset. I wanted to fix this.

"Don't cry, love. I'm sorry. You can't be faulted for telling him your feelings. I know this is the last thing you want to do, but you've got to talk to him and sort it out. Who knows? He might feel the same way but was too nervous to tell you," she said, clearly trying to calm me down.

I buried my head in my hands. "George is never too nervous to tell anyone anything," I moaned miserably. "I made a complete fool of myself. Things will never be the same, I know they won't."

She wiped my tears and pulled me into her side in one of her rare compassionate moments. "Prudence, trust me. I know exactly how it feels to care more than the other person, but I don't think that's the case here. I really don't. I think you caught him off-guard. George is head over heels for you. He'd do anything for you. He'd give you the moon if you asked for it. No matter how horribly awkward or terrible you feel, hear him out. Promise me."

I allowed her to hold me for a moment as I pondered her words and this incredibly strange situation I was in. How was I, Prudence Turner, prefect due to inadequate roommates, leader only by force, mourning over a boy I loved that never loved me back, sitting here with a girl I'd once hated? I was in love with someone new, one of the loudest, boldest, bravest boys in the entire school, who I'd just spent the night with. I was in a rebel group that was fighting against the wizarding world's government. I'd nearly been caught last night and would surely be facing consequences for my actions in the morning. And yet all I cared about was what George was thinking right now.

I sighed. "Promise."

"Good," she said with an approving nod. "While I've got you here, can I talk to you about Lee?"

Frazzled though I was, I was always so appeased by her wanting to confide in me and ask for my opinion. I agreed, knowing it would be a good distraction for the coming hours.

"Okay." Noel tucked her mussy red locks behind her ears and stared down into her lap. "So, you know how you yelled at me and then the two of us were getting along for the past couple of days?"

I murmured in assent, urging her to continue. As close as I was to both Noel and Lee, I had no clue what was really going on between them because the two of them didn't even know what was going on.

"Well, things were going really well at the meeting until, you know, it broke up. Lee grabbed me and the next thing I know he was tossing me down some passageway telling me to keep running. I ran into-"

I interrupted her, explaining what Lee and the twins had already told me. She pursed her lips and nodded slowly. "Did you know he messaged me first?"

Frowning, I shook my head. "He did. His message was: please tell me you're safe. I'm worried about you."

Her brown eyes were searching mine for the slightest of emotions, but I was sure all I displayed was confusion. "I know. I don't know either," Noel said with an exhale. "He was really flirty during the meeting too. You know, like how he used to be before we started dating."

I noticed her slight hesitation before using the D-word, and felt even worse than I already did. Here I was complaining about a small mishap in a happy relationship to someone who was clearly miserable. It seemed my years of isolation had taught me pity rather than empathy. "Do you think that you'll get back together?"

"I hope so," she admitted sadly. "I fucked up really badly though. Much worse than what just happened between you and George, if that makes you feel any better."

It didn't, but I smiled anyway. She was trying hard to be supportive even though she was so upset. "Here's the deal. If I talk to George today, you talk to Lee."

She chewed on her pinky nail and started to shake her head. "I don't know. Okay. I will. I think. Yes."

"Perhaps you need more sleep," I said quietly with a smirk. As much as I didn't want to admit it, the twins had rubbed off on me quite a bit. "All right, well…try and go back to bed. I'm going to shower and try not to drown myself."

Noel nodded. "Sounds like a plan" she said with a yawn, falling back onto her pillows. I closed her hangings behind me and wandered into the loo, my head feeling very full.

I wasn't going to take back what I'd said, that was certain. I'd spent months agonizing over how I had never told Cedric, and had been so hung up on the 'what if' of everything that I was missing things happening right in front of me. But if he truly didn't love me back, should I stay with him? Would I stay with him?

I stepped under the flow of hot water and allowed the steady stream to unwind the muscles on my neck. He was going to leave, and I didn't know when. Perhaps I should just let him go. I was leaving Hogwarts in May regardless, and I wouldn't have to see him after that. If I could move on from Cedric, surely I could move on from George, right?

My fingers reached for the dove of their own accord, and the smooth, polished edges reassured my shaking grasp. If I were going to be honest with myself for once, I wouldn't be okay without George. I was okay without Cedric, as awful as it was. I was surviving, I was living, I was happy. But in a matter of months George had found a way to get closer to me than Cedric ever did in the several years I knew him.

I stepped out of the shower, my hair dripping heavily onto the tile. Feeling slightly embarrassed even though I was alone, I stood in front of the mirror and examined myself. I didn't have the tall, tan, sinewy body of Grace that led boys to their weakest moments. I didn't have the curvy, toned shape of Noel that created fantasies in the minds of our classmates.

I was narrow-waisted and relatively slender, but I was soft where others were muscled, flat where others were ample, and plain where others were ornate. My breasts were small and my shoulders stooped. There was no definition to my biceps, and several faded marks stretched along my hips, like tiger stripes. Shivering now as the cold began to seep in, I wrapped myself in a towel and swiftly pinned up my damp curls into the plait that George liked so much.

Returning to the dormitory where my roommates were still sleeping, I readied myself for the day and curled up in my bed with a book, which I did not concentrate on at all. My eyes were glued to the page but my brain had drifted miles away.

At half past seven, Noel finally rose from her bed and snapped her fingers in my face. "Earth to Prudence, anyone in there? Don't forget you don't need your Charms things today. All seventh years are meeting with their Heads of Houses."

I gasped and buried my face in my hands. I'd had completely slipped my mind. "Right, thanks," I mumbled, but she was already in the bathroom. I had to sit in a room with Professor Sprout for thirty minutes talking about my rapidly approaching future. She would be asking me questions that I was supposed to have thought about, but seeing as how I'd forgotten the meeting was even today, I had very little time and energy to do so.

Feeling extremely frustrated and defeated, I flopped backwards on my mattress and let out a loud groan of disgust.

"Aw, is Prude upset? What happened, did George try to get to first base with you or something?" Grace laughed to herself as she stood over me.

A wave of fury washed over me. It was the oddest sensation; very slowly I sat up, and then got to my feet. "You know what Grace? For seven years I have lived with you and let me tell you, that is no easy task. When we came here as eleven year olds, you immediately isolated me because I didn't like the same things you did. For years you ignored me, made me feel worthless and invisible. Then, I became interesting.

"I was a pawn, someone for you to use in your little game that you play with Noel. That fact, along with the one that had you even competing against your so called "best friend" says it all. You're an insecure, shallow, vain, heartless mess. The only reason you got into Hufflepuff is because you didn't fit in anywhere else, and the hat thought we would accept you. And we did. I did. But then you abused us a few too many times and we turned on you. What else can you expect when you've got a nasty heart?"

My chest was heaving. Grace was sneering at me, but I noticed a flush working its way up her neck.

"You are such a fucking _bitch_," she hissed. "I tried to help you. I made you popular. The Weasleys never would have even looked at you if I hadn't brought you out of your pity party. So if this is what I get for trying to do something good, then fine!"

She stalked past Noel, who had come out of the loo to see what was going on, and slammed the door with such force that a vase of flowers on Noel's desk blew over and shattered.

Noel's black-lined eyes sought mine out and she rushed over to me. "You," she said, pressing my cheeks between the palms of her hands, "are my goddamn hero."

Blinking, I kept my gaze on the broken glass. In one night I'd nearly had sex and I'd willingly gotten into a confrontation. Who was I?

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><p><strong>AN: Hello everybody! I really really hope you liked this chapter, because I worked really hard on it. I admit I had quite a bit of writer's block and had intended for this to go much differently than it did but hey, what can you do. First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who has read this story, reviewed, rated, favorited, whatever. I now have 24,000+ views on this, and I am completely flabbergasted. You are all the best, and you are all the reason that I have the confidence to post this story. I love you guys.**

**If you liked this chapter, drop a review letting me know which parts! If you didn't like it, leave me a review anyway because I would really enjoy some feedback.**

**UP NEXT: Prudence faces George, Noel faces Lee, and Fred is caught in the middle. Stay tuned!**


	28. I Love You, George Weasley

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. Enjoy!**

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><p>Between the prospect of seeing George and the confrontation with Grace that had my adrenaline pumping, I was pretty much a wreck. I couldn't calm down. All I could do was shake with fear and anticipation.<p>

"Okay, honestly." Noel sighed from her position in front of the bathroom mirror where she was painstakingly applying her mascara. "You're not the old Prudence anymore who's afraid to speak lest someone actually look at her. You're different now. You know George better than anyone except Fred, probably. Chances are he's going to feel really badly about this morning and try to make it up to you, that's all."

I swallowed. "That's all."

Grace had stalked back in about ten minutes ago and had barricaded herself in her bed with the hangings shut. Frankly, I was mostly upset that I didn't get to say everything I'd been thinking for seven years. There was so much more I wanted to get off my chest, but being as inexperienced with confrontation as I was, my brain hadn't been functioning properly.

Once Noel was done putting on her makeup, she spritzed herself with a coconut-scented perfume (the one that Lee liked the best) and we headed for the Great Hall. My stomach was in utter turmoil. I really, really didn't want to do this.

_Just because you're a Hufflepuff and not a Gryffindor doesn't mean you can't be brave, _I reminded myself. _There's Gryffindor blood in you. It's just George. Goofy, grinning George. _

Feeling sick, I followed Noel through the open doors and towards the far right table.

"Morning," Noel said breezily as she settled herself a bit too close to Lee for comfort, leaning across him to reach the pumpkin juice. I would've laughed at his expression after he caught a whiff of her perfume, except George was sitting across from me and not saying a word.

There was a steaming mug of tea next to my plate, but George would not look up from his kippers. My words felt stuck in my throat. I had that uncomfortable feeling of being about to cry, but I was saved by the arrival of the post, including my Daily Prophet.

"More trash in there, I assume," Fred said through a mouthful of eggs.

Grateful for the temporary distraction, I unrolled the propaganda-filled paper and paid the owl. "There it is."

Front and center was a beaming Umbridge shaking hands with the Minister. _Hogwarts' Newest Head Mistress_ it read. _Dumbledore on the Run, Senior Undersecretary Steps Up._

My lips pressed together in fury as I looked up to the high table. I had been completely oblivious when I'd first come in, but there she was, sitting in Dumbledore's seat and calmly stirring her tea. McGonagall looked like she quite wanted to slip a bit of poison in Umbridge's cup.

"This entire paper is about Dumbledore," I said disdainfully. "Why do they feel the need to print such filthy lies about someone? I just don't get it."

Lee shrugged. "They want to distract the public from the fact that they tried to arrest them and he escaped. Instead of making themselves look incompetent, they choose to make him look like a villain."

At this, everyone, including George, stopped to stare at him.

"That was very insightful Lee," I said, trying to stop my lips from twitching.

He looked pleased with himself. "I do have my moments." Noel's arm brushed against his and he dropped his fork on the floor.

"Well, that's over," Fred said with a snort, dousing his eggs in ketchup.

Breakfast was finished mostly in silence, only Fred and Lee contributing anything to the conversation. Noel was quiet, presumably trying to figure out what her next move on Lee would be. George kept his head down. I drank my tea and ate my toast, using the Prophet as a shield.

Shortly before nine o'clock, Umbridge stood and cleared her throat with a 'hem hem' and stared at us until everyone quieted down. "As some of you may notice, Dumbledore is not here. Late last night I found evidence that he was creating an army to take down the Ministry."

Whispering broke out all around the hall; the Slytherins looked like if they gloated any more they would explode. I clutched the Prophet so hard in my fist that it tore in two and George finally looked up, reaching out a hand to gently touch my wrist. I let the parchment fall.

"When the aurors tried to arrest him, he fled like a coward rather than face the consequences of his actions," she continued. McGonagall looked as though she'd swallowed something unpleasant. "Under authority of Minister Fudge, I have been named the new Head Mistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

A glance down the table showed Harry making the ugliest look I'd ever seen. Ron was absolutely glowering up at her. "Make no mistake: this school will undergo a complete inspection. Changes will be made. Punishments will be harsher. This system has been much too relaxed with this generation of witches and wizards and as a result your minds have weakened."

Umbridge glared down at all of us for several moments before her expression morphed back into one of false pleasantry. "However, if you obey my rules and exist within your limits then you will have nothing to worry about. That is all."

My ears were ringing. I stared down at my palm to see the tiny crescents my fingernails had created, afraid to look to my left and see Umbridge smugly holding court, but even more afraid to look up and see George's face.

Finally, feeling my anxiety building, I grabbed my satchel and rushed towards the door with a mumbled excuse.

"Prudence," George said with a sigh, getting up to follow me. I stalked out into the Entrance Hall and whirled around, my words dying on the tip of my tongue as soon as I took in his mournful expression. And it only made me angrier.

George kept his distance, watching me carefully. "We need to talk about this morning."

I managed to find my voice. "So talk. I think I've said enough already."

"All right," he said quietly. We stood there. The stocking on my left leg slipped down a centimeter. "I fancy you."

"Are you sodding kidding me?" I burst out, garnering a look from two Ravenclaws who were having a discussion on one of the window sills. He gently tugged on my arm and pulled me towards the kitchens, but I kept my reproachful stare.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, you caught me by complete surprise this morning. I mean, I don't think I've ever been so shocked in my life."

I was suddenly very aware of my pulse, which was quickening. "Is it really so hard to believe that I would – feel that way? After everything we've been through together?"

George shook his head. "No, but please try to understand. You're better at this than me. You always talk about how you need me, how I've changed you, how that scares you, which makes what you said even braver. Honestly, you might as well be wearing scarlet robes right now, not me."

"I do need you, and yes it does terrify me, but I've finally come to terms with it. You've made me a better person, and it makes me stronger, not weaker," I said in the calmest tone I could muster. My heart was racing and my mouth felt dry.

George grabbed my hand; I reluctantly allowed it. "I need you too, Prudence! I swear. I just can't _say _what you said. I don't know why, I just can't. But…that doesn't mean that I don't feel the same."

His words seemed so sincere, and his thumb was stroking my palm, and his brown eyes were so filled with emotion as they stared down at me that my anger was quickly fading. "So what then?"

"Can I hear you say it again? Please?" he asked quietly.

My cheeks flushed. "George…"

He grabbed my other hand so he was holding both and looked at me imploringly. "You love me. Yeah?"

"Yeah," I whispered, forcing myself to look up at him. "I love you."

A grin spread across George's face as he leaned down and captured my lips in his, the pads of his fingers finding my cheekbones. I pressed into him, my mouth moving against his insistently until I pulled back, remembering very quickly that we were not alone.

George chuckled, rubbing his lip with this thumb. "Sorry, got a little bit carried away there. Are we good?"

"I suppose," I said, tucking myself beneath his arm. "Do you have time to walk me to the dungeons?"

"Anything for the girl who loves me," he responded with a wink, taking my satchel and kissing the top of my head.

I sighed happily, completely relieved that everything had been settled. Not knowing where I stood with George was a horrible feeling. As much as I'd been trying to fight it, I needed him, and I was finally coming to terms with that.

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><p>A week passed, and the castle was in a constant state of gloom. It was now springtime, and the grounds were a giant puddle of muck that left us slipping and sliding our way to the greenhouses, bundled in our robes and scarves that left us sweating once we reached our destination.<p>

Umbridge had gone completely totalitarian, banning students from walking in groups of more than three, so that the twins, Noel, Lee and I often had to walk separately. The dress code was stricter than ever, something Grace unhappily acknowledged as she received her first ever detention for her leg-bearing skirt.

Hufflepuff was doing all right with house points, but Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were depleted; Slytherin, on the other hand, was bursting. Every time someone on the Inquisitorial Squad handed out a detention or found a student breaking an Educational Decree, the other houses got nailed. Gemma did not wear one of these badges, something that gave me a glimmer of hope, and there were several times where I would catch her looking entirely miserable, but she had become glued to Pucey's side, and I could no longer look at her the same way.

Fred and George were no longer excluding me from their plans, but knowing all the details and being expected to help in their escape was just as painful. There were even times where I feared that they would blow off their plans and just up and flee the school, as Umbridge was being particularly nasty to them – er, more than usual. I soaked up every moment I had with George now, and since I'd told him how I felt we were even closer.

"You're going to help me study tonight, right?" I asked him as he walked me to the dungeons. My hair was loose today, hanging down my back in waves.

George reached over and twirled a strand before letting it fall back in place. "Of course, love. We've got to get you into healing school so you can save the magical race from deadly diseases and plagues."

I smiled happily and allowed him to take my chin in his hand, kissing him briefly before stepping back. "Eight o'clock, my room."

"I'll be there with bells and whistles on," he agreed.

My eyes widened. To anyone else that was a normal phrase. To George, Merlin only knows what that meant. He chuckled and patted my head. "Just speaking generally, Prudence. You'll find no joke products with me."

I opened my mouth to reply but instead found myself slammed against the stone wall, my bag, laden with books, slipping off of my shoulder and falling to the ground with a resonant 'boom!'

Within seconds George had Montague in his grasp, his emerald-lined robes wound around George's fists.

"Unhand my student, Mr. Weasley, now," Snape said, appearing around the corner. His voice was quiet, but his tone suggested that if George did not comply immediately he would regret it. "Detention with me, tonight. I would take points, but judging by the hour glass in the Great Hall I sense that would be counterproductive."

A group of Slytherins who had gathered amidst the commotion smirked; Snape looked pleased.

George very reluctantly stepped back, releasing Montague, whose black eyes were glittering. He'd known Snape was coming. He'd planned that entire thing.

"Everyone in my class has thirty seconds to take their seats or else they will be joining Mr. Weasley later in cleaning out cauldrons," Snape drawled, his robes billowing out behind him like a bat as he led the way into the room.

"Looks like we'll be studying tomorrow then," I said softly, taking his hand in mine. "Thank you."

Without a word, George kissed me lightly on the cheek and disappeared around the corner. I sighed and shouldered my bag as I trailed into the classroom behind Charles Goldstein and Jennifer Mickelson, who were apparently now an item judging by her talons that were digging into his arm as they walked.

"Are you all right?" Martin asked as I took my seat next to a drooling Lee. I nudged him awake and turned to the quidditch captain in surprise. He hadn't done much speaking to me lately.

"I'm fine, thank you," I managed as politely as I could.

His blue eyes narrowed as he glanced toward the Slytherin table in the back corner. "He's always been nasty, but this year he's turned into a real piece of work."

Lee snorted from beside me as I fixed Martin with a cool stare, something I'd picked up from Noel. "And why do you think that is, Martin?"

I fluttered my lashes innocently before turning to face the board, upon which Snape was now scrawling instructions. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Angelina and Alicia exchange a high-five beneath the table and I fought the urge to laugh aloud. I liked having confidence. Perhaps I would have to use it more often.

* * *

><p>"You should've seen it!" Lee cried gleefully, nearly spraying Alicia with cranberry sauce from his mouth.<p>

Fred wrapped an arm around my shoulder and squeezed, tussling my hair. "Sorry Prudence love, even your random outbursts of putting people in their place can't get us into Snape's classroom."

George grumbled into his shepherd's pie. "No, but apparently Montague can."

Noel looked up boredly from her magazine. "Well then I guess next time you should let Prudence fight her own battles instead of reverting back to caveman-ism. It's not like she can't take care of herself."

"Thank you Noel," I said calmly, sensing George's building anger. His temper had been much less complacent as of late. "But George acted as he saw fit in the situation. It's clear that logic and sensibility mean nothing to Montague, and now we know brute force doesn't either. I say on to locking him in a broom cupboard with a herd of rogue centaurs."

Noel, George, Fred, and Lee all stared at me as I sipped my tea. "Prudence Turner, you're a regular rebel," Noel decided. "We should make up some posters and spread them around the school. You can be the head of our revolution to overthrow the government."

I glanced over at Umbridge nervously. The last thing I needed was to receive yet another detention. Even after all this time, my hand still wasn't fully healed. "We should get to class."

"You're no fun," she said as she pretended to pout, then looped her arm in Lee's. "Walk me to Transfiguration?"

Lee choked on his pumpkin juice but managed to shrug. "Sure," he said casually, but anyone could see how much this bothered him.

Following Umbridge's new decree about no groups larger than three, Fred, George and I set off at a short distance behind them. "Any bets on when they're getting back together?" Fred asked mischievously.

"We are _not _doing that," I informed him crossly. "It's clear they both fancy each other a lot, and they have for a while, but it's no accident that they broke up. Noel has a lot of issues that, honestly, Lee isn't equipped to deal with. They won't work."

George wrapped an arm around me. "Not to mention, that period of time where the two of you started ignoring us was completely horrible. I'd much rather have you right here."

I smiled slightly, but blushed when he planted a kiss on my temple and Fred made booing and hissing noises.

"You two are no fun anymore…old married couple you are…oi, Johnson, Spinnet! Wait up!"

We watched in amusement as Fred weaved through the crowd of students, casually tripping Slytherins as he went. We walked in a slow silence, and I was completely focused on what the upcoming Transfiguration lesson would be when I suddenly felt George's fingers slip beneath my sweater and blouse to stroke the skin of my hip.

"We haven't gotten much alone time together lately…" he whispered in my ear, his breath hot against my neck. I cursed the fact that I had it pinned up today; it gave him much easier access. "What say we skive off dinner tonight? We can have a solid hour before my detention."

I tried not to let him see how much he was affecting me. "Eating is important, George."

We reached McGonagall's classroom and he pulled my chair out for me, lightly wrapping his arms around me as I attempted to sit down. "But I miss you."

"George!" I scolded as quietly as I could manage, furtively glancing around, my cheeks on fire.

He chuckled and collapsed beside me, folding his arms behind his head. "Fine, fine…but we're still studying tomorrow night, yeah?"

Feeling as though I could not possibly blush anymore, I turned to him sternly. "Yes, studying. Nothing else. Exams are going to be impossible and the healing school won't take me if I get anything less than an E on any of them."

"You need to relax," Lee pointed out unhelpfully from George's other side. "You're going to give yourself an ulcer."

I glowered at him, but just as I opened my mouth to retort I was cut off. "As much as I hate to admit this, Lee has a point. A point that could have been made in a much more tactful manner, but a point nonetheless." George stroked the back of my hand with his thumb while glaring at a grinning Lee. "I know your grades are important, but so is your sanity, so let's try and maintain it, all right love?"

My irritation melted away. "All right."

I pretended to still be upset and even fixed him with a pointed look, but in truth I felt ridiculously happy. He wasn't perfect, but I loved him. As McGonagall began the lesson, I fought to keep my expression neutral. I bloody loved him. I loved George Weasley. And I think he loved me back.

* * *

><p>"For fuck's sake!" Noel exclaimed as she burst through the door. I happily noted that George was right behind her.<p>

"Who did what this time?" I asked warily as Noel violently kicked off her undoubtedly expensive shoes and sent them flying into the wall.

George shrugged off his satchel and made his way over to my desk chair, where I was sitting. "She had her meeting with Sprout."

My eyes widened in understanding. Almost every seventh year had their meetings already, but Noel had to reschedule hers due to an interference with a detention. "So…what did she say?"

Noel laughed derisively. "That pink, plump, dragon woman wouldn't even let Sprout get a word in edgewise! Sprout said one bloody word and all of a sudden it was 'That's not a real career choice,' and, 'Not going to work in magic? Well then what have you been doing here wasting resources?' Not to mention, 'Well, perhaps it's for the best. Your grades in my class are poor enough to keep you from any job at the Ministry, and I'm afraid that was your best shot.'"

"I'm sorry Noel," I said with a sigh. George rested his hands on my shoulder reassuringly and I reached up and grabbed his right hand in mine. "But you really can't listen to her. She has no more say in who gets hired at the Ministry than I do. She's seriously overstated, not to mention oblivious."

She shot me a cold stare. "You know I don't want to work in the Ministry any more than I want to chew my own foot off. I want to be a fashion consultant. Or a primary school teacher."

George's fingers tightened on my shoulder in what I'm sure was an attempt at holding in his laughter. The last person expected to want to work with children was Noel Dalton. "I know, I just think it's a waste. You're a natural leader and especially at this time, people could use a voice like yours to follow."

"Look, I love you, so I'm going to try my hardest not to bite your tiny little head off. Prudence, you need to butt out of my life. I'm not the great savior of the wizarding world that you think I am. I can't handle my own life. I mean, can you imagine the kind of dirt that would come out on me if I ever put myself in the public eye? We don't all have noble bloody paths in life like yours or Harry pissing Potter. Some of us are just trying to get by, not shoot for the sodding stars!"

And then she was gone again in a whirlwind of perfume and flying, strawberry blonde hair. She came back a moment later for her boots, and then slammed the door so hard that the glass rattled in the window panes.

I sat there in a stunned silence. "Well," George said with a clap of his hands. "That could've been worse, couldn't it?"

"Yeah," I mumbled distractedly. "I suppose."

"Besides, I don't think you have a tiny head." George bent over and planted a kiss on my temple. "I think you have a just right-sized head."

At that, I let out a laugh.

"There it is," he said with a grin. "Now, let's get you studying, eh?"

Reluctantly, I allowed George to grab my books and lead me over to the bed. I settled between his legs and propped up my Charms text on my knees, with an entire term's worth of notes spread around us.

"Okay, the notes over here on the ivory parchment are the spells I feel comfortable with. The ones on the eggshell – I borrowed from Noel – are the ones that I'm good with on either theory or practical, but not both, and then the spells on the standard parchment are the ones I can't make head or tail of even after all this time, meaning I'll probably fail out of Hogwarts, not get into healing school, and become a hobo on the street." When I was done speaking I let out the breath I'd been holding.

After a moment I turned around to find George staring at me in utter bemusement. "You really do need to relax. Has anyone ever told you that? Well, besides Lee because he doesn't really count."

I thought about it. "No, they haven't."

"Well, I'm saying it now. Prudence Turner, calm down. You are brilliant, and kind, and honestly to me, a little bit perfect. There is no way you're going to do anything less than excellent on these exams. Look, your pile of notes on spells you're uncomfortable with is miniscule compared to the ones you know." George gently brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "So let's just get to work, yeah? No more freak outs."

"No more freak outs," I repeated as I turned around. "All right, so the Atmospheric Charm, which modifies temperatures-"

I cut myself off as his fingertips found the bare skin between my stockings and the hem of my skirt. They swirled briefly up and down my calves, trailed up to my knee, and then slipped up under my uniform to my inner thighs.

"And create certain weather conditions…"

I could feel the calluses on his fingertips as he lightly massaged an area much too close to my knickers for comfort. I knew what he was trying to do and I was determined not to let him distract me, as he would then believe he had power over me. Plus, I actually needed to study.

"The theory I understand. But whenever I try to change from dry weather to wet, nothing happens." I reached out for my wand on my nightstand but his hands, more insistent on the skin of my thighs, held me in place.

His breath was hot on my neck. "I could help with that," he whispered in my ear, and in spite of my blushing and shock, a tiny butterfly exploded into a flurry of winged insects that created a storm in my stomach.

"I doubt it. You're just as crap at this charm as I am. Only Fred managed to do it successfully," I teased, secretly hoping it would make him mad.

"You're asking for it now," George confirmed, lowering his lips to hover just over my pulse point.

I swallowed and straightened myself as much as I could from between his legs. "I'm not asking for anything. I'm trying to study for the charms exam."

"So why aren't you stopping me?" Even though I couldn't see him, I knew he was smirking. His mouth trailed slowly up and down my neck, nipping at my ear lobe. I tried to steady my breathing so he wouldn't know how much he was affecting me, but he felt my heart beat speed up as he planted a kiss just above my collarbone.

And then I did the most unPrudence-like thing I could imagine. With one sweeping gesture, my books and notes went flying to land on the floor with a 'thump!' and I whirled around to straddle him, immediately capturing his mouth in mine.

I could tell my response took George by surprise but he eagerly went with it, slipping his hands under my blouse to find the small of my back. The kiss was sloppy and open-mouthed, both of us trying to convey the frustration we'd felt at barely being able to be alone.

I gripped the collar of his shirt tightly as his tongue swiped out for the first time, giving myself better leverage and him more access to my legs. Sure enough, his hands slid down and gripped my thighs in an almost painful way, although I didn't mind at all.

The last time we'd snogged like this had been slow, gentle, unsure, but this was something else entirely. His right hand moved steadily upwards until it reached my knickers, which he slid beneath to grab my bare buttock. He broke the kiss to direct his lips to my collarbone and the skin exposed by the undone buttons of my blouse, which I hadn't noticed.

My back arched and my head tilted back of their own accord, and then suddenly I felt a breeze on my front. Instead of being mortified at him finally seeing what was underneath my shirt, I sensed a sudden determination as I shrugged off my blouse and allowed him to flip us so he was on top. I hastily untucked his sweater so I could run my fingers up and down his chest, sending a shiver down his spine as my nails dug in ever so slightly.

He buried his head in my neck and I could feel him panting with the effort of restraining himself, and I was about to tell him to keep going when the door opened. George bolted upright with a speed I didn't know he possessed and flung my shirt at me as Grace gave us a look of disgust.

"You can't even close your curtains? You and Noel do realize that I live here too, right? Always bringing your boyfriends back and making things uncomfortable. The least you could do is put a sock on the knob or, you know, lock the bloody door," she sneered.

I thought this was extremely unprecedented, as I'd been walking in on Grace and her various escapades for several years now, but George beat me to it.

"Hey Grace," he said casually, slipping his hands into his pockets. "I heard you got a nice wake-up call the other morning."

I snorted into my palm as she shot us a filthy glare. "Yeah, your girlfriend's become a real bitch since she started hanging around Noel."

"Well I learned from the best, didn't I?"

At my response, both Grace and George stared at me in amazement. I myself couldn't quite believe that I'd said that. I'd never been known to be quick or witty. It was only recent that I'd even started standing up for myself.

She dug around in her desk drawer for a moment before triumphantly tossing a small, plastic package in our direction. George caught it with his swift reflexes and stared at it, unimpressed. It was a condom, and I felt myself flush.

"You two kids enjoy," she said breezily, gathering a few books from her nightstand and heading out the door.

Noting my mortification, George quickly grabbed a bit of parchment and my quill, scrawled a quick note, and left it, along with the condom, on Noel's bed.

"What did you write?" I asked curiously.

"'To aid you in your time of need, love, George and Prudence,'" he quoted.

A grin spread across my face and I stood to meet him, burying myself against his chest happily. "I love you," I told him.

He placed a finger beneath my chin and lifted it, placing a tender kiss on my lips. "Since you actually want to study, I suppose I should be going."

My heart sunk, as it always did with the prospect of him leaving, but I nodded. "Yeah, seeing as it's been nearly three-quarters of an hour and I've accomplished nothing."

"Well, I wouldn't say _nothing_," he said suggestively, wrapping his hands around my waist.

I batted at him until he backed away, trying to smooth out my hair and maintain the small bit of dignity I had left. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Until then, love," George agreed, gathering his belongings and disappearing through the door.

I sunk down onto the floor and began to track down my scattered notes, but I couldn't concentrate. My hand reached up to grasp the small, metal dove that hung around my neck, its smooth edges and tiny curvatures now reassuring. I would be relying on the charm a lot more once Fred and George decided to leave. I needed to stop pretending that it wasn't going to happen. I just hoped that he would tell me how he felt before he finally went.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hi everyone (is anyone still here?) It's been such a long time and I am so, so sorry. I really don't know what to say except my life hasn't exactly been stellar the past few months and I had next to no time to write and even when I did have a bit of spare time I just didn't have the ambition. But every time I got a review or message I found some inspiration to write a few lines here or there and today I wrote almost a thousand words to finish this chapter out! To everyone who has left me kind words and suggestions about this story, you're why I'm still here honestly. If no one enjoyed this story I probably would've just left it at this because I became sort of detached from Prudence and George, but don't worry my love for them is back with a vengeance. **

**UP NEXT: Montague gets his comeuppance, phase 1 of the Weasley twin escape begins, and Noel and Lee's relationship gets more complicated than ever. Stay tuned!**


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